The Blade and the Dragon
by SigmaXVII
Summary: When Prince Marth of Altea loses everything he holds dear to his country's enemies, he must rally an army of unexpected allies to fight back against the forces of Medeus, the dark dragon, not only to save his own country, but the entirety of the continent of Archanea. A novelization of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon.
1. Chapter 1: Before the Storm

A small continent, surrounded by the oceans… their waves pushing back and forth in a rhythmic cycle. The smell of salt lay in the air… and noses of all the towns folk love it so. Ships slid into and out of port to trade, and the town was ripe with beaming faces. A young man ambled on the grass, atop a supple hill overlooking the gloaming town, the wind blowing in his face; He wore a perplexed look… deep in thought and none too pleased. 'It's bright and beautiful… just like… 'that day,' he thought. His thoughts drifted into the past, a past, originally filled with peace. Filled with days like this…bright and hopeful... however… bad memories flooded his mind and he grunted, with a darkened face.

* * *

"Father," the young, blue haired boy began, "you called me? I assume it's urgent…"

The father, with his large stature and small, yet unmistakably white puffy beard, regarded his son with stony eyes that hid meaning, and wore a face that could show no stress. "I take it you've heard the news." It wasn't a question, or at least wasn't phrased as one, "the Dolhr empire… has returned…" he paused, assessing the boy, "and they have managed to find an ally in Grust. War is coming." Those words put a chill to the room that made the boy stand still; he'd known already, OF COURSE he'd known… but for his father, a man of great convictions and bravery, to feel the need to tell him in person… it must be worse than he'd heard.

"You can't mean… we're going to war…"

"I do, Marth." They both stood quietly, taking in the news as if it was really news, "I will be taking forces tomorrow morning, and, while I'm out there, with the army, actually fighting," once again, his words turned ice cold, almost depreciating, "you will be forced to begin learning advanced swordsmanship."

He looked up in worry, dread, and desperate defiance, "no, please, you can't mean that! I- I have no talents for it! Nor do I wish to carry a weapon, much less use one on some foe! Recons-"

"My decision is final," he cut off his son, "you will be taking lessons from Jagen starting tonight after your studies. Meet him in the courtyard, end of discussion!" With that, he beckoned Marth out of his quarters and shut the door. A stupefied Marth is all that was left outside.

"Oh my… what has he done this time to put you in such a mood?"

The boy looked to his right and instantly straightened, finding it was his mother, Liza. "It's nothing, mother, please do not worry about me…"

"Now, you're my son, I wish you'd be more upfront with me about things." She almost demanded.

He looked away, unsure, "it's just… father has bidden me to start practicing advanced swordsmanship… when I don't wish to… I do understand why though… he wants a son who can do more than, care for the wildlife that trounces into the garden, and be a good student… he wants a warrior… not only that… he wants me to be able to protect myself, he may need me soon if we're going into war.

Liza's face soured, "ugh…" she let out, clearly upset.

"Ah, I'm sorry mother, I have distressed you, please, let me get out of your hair, I have some things to do anyway."

"Wait first, though," she called before he disappeared, "… you know your father loves you… right? I assure you, he does, he loves you, just as much as he loves your elder sister, Elice. Never forget that, especially since he's charging at first light."

The boy looked down, unsure of what to say. "Of course, I never thought otherwise, I love you both as well," and he turned to leave.

KNOCK KNOCK! A grumpy voice sounded from the bedroom.

"I assume it's okay for me to come in," the mother lets herself in. "So, you're forcing Marth to take more sword lessons?"

"Don't even try to fight me on this."

"Cornelius…" she looked at him, worried, "I don't find your decision wrong… I take issue with how forceful you were… you know he hates it when you do that. You love your son, you should act like it to try to remind him."

"I know, Liza, it's just…" he sinks to the burgundy floor, "I can't shake the feeling… there's more to this coming first battle then meets the eye…" he stares at the floor… then into her eyes, full of concern. "We've received a messenger from Gra. He'll guide us to the rendezvous point, which is where we'll attack the enemy… the journey should take us three days or so." He thought inwardly for a moment, "I know Marth learned simple swordsmanship before, and simply couldn't really get into it… but he may need it now more than ever…"

"…I'm sure, deep inside, he understands your choice and respects it… we'll all miss you…" Liza sat down next to him, sadness on all her countenance. "No matter what happens, know, that through it all, I'll always love you, and so will our children, even if you are… rough sometimes." The two kept sitting for minutes in silence, simply being in each other's presence was consoling enough for them.

* * *

The garden was one of the most beautiful sights to see in the castle. Among the shrubbery and trees of a multitude of colors, there was a plethora of animals that had appeared from time to time from different places. The blue haired boy was with them, musing on about his current predicament; it was a place he'd constantly go to think. "Tsk. What am I to do… sigh… I'm not strong enough to wield a sword against someone else…" At the raising of his hand, silky white doves flocked to the feed in said hand.

"Ah, this is where you were…" a soft voice sounded behind him; she had long blue hair, and a face that almost embodied beauty, as some poets of future generations might say. Her clean, white dress, which was ornamented with subtle floral patterns fluttered in the wind.

"Elice! W-what are you doing here?" He tried to stay as calm as possible, as to not scare away the birds.

"Well… I heard from mother that you stormed off from father's room after being told something… is everything all right? Her voice continued to console in a hushed tone.

He thought for several seconds, "did mother not tell you then of what father commanded me to do," his face became pained. She shook her head no, "Father has said that as he goes out to… war… I must learn advanced swordsmanship from Jagen… swordsman ship meant for killing… not simple dueling in good fun…" he grunted in displeasure. "Did he not already understand that I'm not fit for the sword? Yet he persists…"

"Knowing father, he must have a reason for this," He was about to speak up when Elice cut him off, "besides the obvious application of it… not just for protecting yourself, something more." The two were silent for some time. The birds had finished eating and flew away back to their nest.

"Those birds…" Marth thought aloud, "they hail from the Archanean capital… is it so bad that even the wild life was forced to flee?" His face wore a look of worry.

"Marth… trust me… better yet, trust our father… I believe he will prevent this uproar from going any further… I'm just as scared as you, but we must have faith." At this, she embraced Marth out of love and mutual terror in an effort to comfort one another. "Trust…" Marth accepted the hug silently, thinking what this ill omen could possibly signify.

* * *

The courtyard blushed in the nighttime with the glow of countless torches. Altean castle, though belonging to one of the much smaller countries of Archanea, was known for it's illustrious beauty, whether it be day or night. The castle guard was well equipped and ready to defend at a moments notice, but one couldn't help but look in awe at the clear night sky as it displayed the moon and the castle in all its glory in equal measure. One young man, however, wasn't quite in the mood for such pleasantries.

"Ah, Prince Marth, it's a pleasure to see you've made it here on time by your father's specifications." The ancient knight greeted the approaching distressed boy.

"Yes… of course Jagen… I wouldn't want to keep you waiting…"

The knight in question was in his usual imposing purple armor. The most notable part of them were the spikes upon the shoulder parts… it always seemed to grab people's attention who first laid eyes on him. "Lord Marth… I hear you aren't very happy about this training… I can see now too. I promise you," he put an encouraging hand on the youth's shoulder, " it will all be worth it. While I pray you won't need to ever use the sword to take another life, the extra security you'll have for yourself will be welcome. Not only that, but, because of those standard practices, we we skip the bare basics, you're much older now too… truly, you've grown up before my very eyes… I have faith in you! Faith in the man you have become , and the man you still will become!" Most would see the usually steadfast knight as scary and unkind, but he was quite the opposite. In truth, while known for being quite strict, almost all of the Knights that knew him looked up to him as inspiration because of not only his bravery, but also his kindness.

Marth's face cracked a smile, part of it were the thoughts of Jagen's legacy, the other was a growing determination. "Thank you for your faith in me Jagen!" The young man looked up to his retainer just as much as the Knights did, "I promise I will try my best!"

The knight cracked a smile, "then let's begin."

* * *

The morning came swiftly. Training had ended with little more then a sample of sparring to get Marth readjusted to swordplay. Now, however, was no time to be thinking about last night. Marth looked from his window to see hundreds of knights making any last arrangements before heading out. Ahead of them was King Cornelius, and next to him was a strange, plain-faced man… this must be the messenger from Gra that he'd heard about here and there.

Each knight carried different weapons, from swords, axes, spears and more, each one seemed to excel in a certain field, though some definitely looked more green than others. When it looked like each knight was just about ready, Cornelius yelled as loud as he could, "ALRIGHT, WE MARCH TOWARD THE RENDEZVOUS POINT! MOVE OUT! And with that, the sea of different colored armor, ranging from green, red, and blue, moved in an orderly way that almost seemed to mirror an actual current. He also noticed the weather, it had went from a bright sunny day like yesterday, to a windy, rainy, and cloudy sky in mere minutes.

* * *

"The weather has become rather bad…" a tall blond-haired man spoke softly as he looked out the window.

"Yes, yes. What about Altea? Are they on their way?" A much older man sounded with impatience.

"Indeed… Altea is following the messenger to the specified point…"

"Heh heh… good…"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, General Jiol," the man warned, "you do this for our… 'new king'… not yourself."

"Ahem! Of course sir, of course." The clatter of silverware could be heard.

A flash of light followed by a sharp howl could be heard from outside the window, "truly… this weather just keeps getting worse and worse…"

 **Hello all! This is my first novelization (so don't expect it to be crazy or something). It's an adaptation of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. In reality, I wrote this some time ago, and I was meaning to upload it for awhile, but never got to it... Oops. Well, anyway, I hope I don't take too long with doing the next chapter...**

 **Why did I choose Shadow Dragon? Well, mostly because, I really like the story of Archanea, but Shadow Dragon didn't really do it justice, since, you know, it was pretty much just the NES game with a new coat of paint. So, I though, maybe I could breathe some life into this story. My main inspirations for this are the game of course, and the Dark Dragon and Sword of Light manga.**

 **Also, just wanted to say, Shadows of Valentia has quickly become my favorite in the Fire Emblem series because the story is told so well and the gameplay is sooooooooooooooooo addicting. Even more than Awakening (I didn't like Fates too much, though). Without further ado, I hope to get the next chapter out sooner or later... May Naga and God bless!**


	2. Chapter 2: Diposed Prince

While king Cornelius and the allies of Gra fought in the war, Marth's studies and sword training consumed all of his thoughts. Each day was a gruelling session of blocking, parrying, and striking. He studied just as profusely, which was the norm for him, but something compelled the boy to study more than usual – akin to a bad feeling. In just the single week his father was away, the tough sword training put on him from Jagen strengthened him quite well, and it seemed he was indeed improving, though he still had a lot to learn.

1 week later, however, a knock at the door ended this routine.

"Yes?" Marth's head popped out of the door. A soldier stood out in the hall, "hm? I didn't think training was this early today."

"Oh! Uh, no, sire, I come with a request for you from your sister. She wishes to meet you at the throne as soon as possible."

"How urgent is it?"

"All I know is that apparently something has happened over with our forces in Gra… I'm not well informed on the specifics though, but I believe it's indeed quite urgent…"

"Alright," he concluded, "please tell her I'll make haste at once."

"Right away, sire!" The soldier said before leaving.

"News..? If it's of our father… I pray it's good news…" Quickly, he dressed in an attire that echoed his blue hair, he put on his cape that was blue on the outward part but red on the inside, as was assigned to him during training. He was about to head out when he looked at the sword lying next to his bed side. Jagen had requested he had his sword at his side at all times in case he planed a surprise lesson. "Might as well grab it, I suppose…" He made his way down the hall when he spotted a splotch of red on the carpet leading to the throne. "Hmm…?" He edged closer, his hand on the hilt of his sword. Examining it, he noticed a small trail and followed it.

"Huh?" In front of him, there stood a soldier from the small garrison of their Gra allies, discernible by the insignia on his shoulder, who stayed to help protect the castle, since most of Altea's army was needed for the war effort. In front of him lied a corpse – the soldier that had come to his room.

"W-what's going on here..?" Marth stiffened, trying to hide his shock – was there an intruder?

"Well, well…" the soldier began before footsteps were heard behind him.

"Ah-" it was Elice, who, until now, had been doing an able job of avoiding any confrontations with the Gra soldiers.

"Heh, well, isn't this nice? You both get to see each other before your deaths!" The soldier raised the lance at his side towards Elice, preparing to finish her first. Marth snapped into action immediately at seeing Elice back peddle in panic. Drawing his sword, the soldier had little time to react before there was a blade protruding firmly from his abdomen on the other side. "Y-you… they told me… weak… you… guh!" The soldier crumpled to the floor in bewilderment.

Immediately, Marth pulled back his sword before dropping it to his side, rushing to Elice. "Elice! Are you okay!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down Marth! We don't want to alert any more guards!" He complied quickly.

"What was that about? Why did that Gra soldier –" Marth stopped when he looked back at him lying on the floor - dead. Killed by his hand. "Attack… us…" his face darkened at the realization at what he just did. Enemy or not, that soldier could've had a family or something. "I just… killed a man, Elice…" he looked back at her, his face crooked in horror.

Quickly, she embraced him, "I'm sorry Marth, but from what I hear… that may not be the only life forfeited today." He was about to say something when she hushed him further, "we've been betrayed. That was no spy or anything of the like, I overheard a few guards talking last night… Gra plans to betray father and side with Dohlr. He may have been killed already. You need to escape quickly! There should be soldiers of our own who you know by face just ahead in the courtyard!

Marth left her embrace and quickly picked up his sword, gritting his teeth at his misdeed, "what about you? Surely you won't make me leave you here!"

"No, I'll be right behind you, I just have several things still to take care of… just promise me you'll make it out safely before worrying about me more!"

"A-… alright sister, I trust you. I'll be waiting." With that Marth ran off, resheathing his sword.

"I'm sorry, Marth… but I need to stay for the people of Altea… please forgive me…"

* * *

The young prince ran for the courtyard and saw two figures ahead of him, there was no cause for alarm though. "Abel! Frey!"

"Oh, thank the gods you're alive sire!" The knight named Frey, who's silver armor glowed even in the cloudy mid day , was an older man, though not as old as Jagen, as evident by his subtle gray beard. A respected knight, he was known to be very compassionate, but was still a very talented fighter.

"Wait, where's milady Elice, though?" The green armored knight standing next to Frey was Abel, a junior knight in service of Altea who'd shone great promise – specifically in horse back combat.

"She told me she had things she needed to take care of first… I-I'm sure we'll see her shortly." The two knights looked at each other, seeing that the young prince was distressed.

"Please, milord," Abel spoke up, "we will make sure to get you out of here before more of the enemy soldiers come along.

"We were just on our way to the stables when we ran into some unwelcome guests," Frey gestured to the poor lifeless souls behind him,"both Abel and I were barely prepared for the ambush. I believe Jagen already knows of this news and is out with his stead now. We should get going." Marth nodded in response. While Frey didn't seem too worried, probably due to years of training, he did show regret in every man he killed, recognizing some of them along the way. Abel on the other hand was chilled and focused. Along with his talent, he was known for his adept level headedness which astounded even the most experienced of knights, no one should've mistook that for unkindness, though.

"Alright, we're here." Frey blotched out his thoughts, "Abel, you keep watch and protect the prince, I'll secure us some horses."

"Understood." Abel simply said before raising his lance. It was also interesting to note he wore a sword at his side, as did Frey and all other cavaliers under Altea's service.

Frey returned shortly, "ah, sorry, my prince, but it seems there were only two left…"

"No, no, it's quite alright. I was never very good at horseback riding to begin with. A simple ride is fine, but in combat? None of my practices ever went well."

"As you wish," Frey said before hopping up on to the horse and offering his hand to help him up. Abel silently saddled his as well.

"Huh? What do we have here?" As if on cue, several Gra soldiers started swarming the courtyard.

"Seems we've ran out of time…" Abel eyed the situation grimly.

"Ah! There's the princeling…" the brute mocked before calling his men to arms, "GET HIM!" With that, they prepared to charge until one of their soldiers fell forward – arrow in their skull – and stopped them in their tracks. Another arrow hit a soldier's heart. Another in the neck. With the continuous dropping of bodies. Marth and the two knights could see a duo of figures in the distance – one rapped in green, the other, an exquisite pink – prepping more arrows. The soldiers, after seeing countless comarades fall, ran behind cover, fearing for their lives. The two saw this and lowered their weapons, the green one waving Abel and Frey forward.

"This way!" The green archer beckoned. The soldiers were starting to get up, and one almost nicked at Abel's horse, but he parried the axe away and precisely slit his throat while still in motion – eyes ever looking forward. After coming upon the two archers around the corner, a wounded knight in red was found leaning on an older man's shoulders.

"Cain!" Abel and Marth said in tandem before leaving their steads to check up on him.

"What happened? Weren't you with father?" Marth asked the knight who was covered in blood and cuts. His armor was badly damaged as well.

"I'm sorry, my prince, but, I believe you've already seen for yourself, Gra has betrayed us. I bring news most ill… King Cornelius is… dead. Killed by a bishop of Dohlr from what I saw with my two eyes."

Marth, to his surprise, only felt a tinge of sadness, he supposed he knew that in his heart the whole time. "Well, for now, we need to get out of here."

"Where's milady Elice though?" Cain asked through gasping breaths.

"Yes… uhh…after we found Queen Liza had perished… she decided to stay behind in the castle to buy us time." The new voice was Malledus, confidant and strategic advisor for King Cornelius. Currently supporting Cain to stay standing, since the knight had just reached that location.

"What!?" Resounded from each of the Knights mouthes.

"I cannot speak to her intentions aside from what she told me… but I suggest we make haste, as not to waste this chance!"

"Which is precisely why I have secured us a ship!" Another knight, with green hair and clasped in heavy blue armor, chimed in – it was Draug, a tough but modest knight who cared little for achievement, instead, wishing to have his actions speak for themselves. "As Sir Malledus instructed me to do, I have prepared a vessel so that we might escape to sea. It's just over there, are you all ready for the journey?"

Marth was still cycling through his feelings before he was nudged forward by the pink archer. "I'm sorry your highness, but we've gotta move!" She had a country accent, but it was refined enough as to not sound stereotypical of what most nobles made it sound like. He looked up and saw the boat ahead at the shore, both the green haired archer and Jagen were aboard, frantically moving boxes back and forth to make room for more passengers.

"Ah, sire, I'm glad you've made it. As well as all of you," Jagen greeted them hurriedly. "We'll have to leave the horses though, too much work for a small crew to pick up after them on the ship. Gordin here will get you all se-"

"Look out!" Draug had raised his shield between Marth's head and an arrow that seemed to come out of no where. The soldiers had received reinforcements and were motivated to deal death to the prince. "Quickly milord, get on." He quickly followed Marth backwards with his shield out to deflect any more arrows, the two archers offering some reprisal with their arrows as well. With everyone on, they shoved off with angry Granians screaming at them in anger. While it would seem some pegasus knights were scouring the skies looking for them, the cloudy weather helped to conceal them from their enemies.

"…" Marth was starring off into space.

"Milord… I know it's regretful… but, you mustn't hang your head for long. With both of your parents dead, and milady Elice's fate unknown… you are the last in the Altean royal line… so, I ask of you, raise your head, if we believe, perhaps fate will bid us to return someday…" Malledus tried his best to console the prince, but feared he failed when his silence persisted.

"I killed a man today." Malledus looked up, confused, "while I didn't think about it then… I suppose that says that it's time to grow up. I may be inexperienced, but you're exactly right. Unlike before, where training with a sword was mostly a chore than anything… I now have a goal. I have a goal to return here. Return to the castle. To return to my home. To save my sister… I promise you," he gave a somber but determined look, like someone who was holding back tears, "to become stronger, and bring justice to this whole ordeal." Malledus was speechless.

"Then please, permit me help you." Behind him was the green archer, "my name's Gordin, I'm an archer in service to the Altean castle." He gave a smile before continuing, "while I may not be the most talented, I will fight for you!"

"Me too!" The pink archer came from behind him, "name's Norne! How do you do! I hail from a village near Altea castle, and volunteered to join up with this army! At home, nothing much happened but me hunting in the woods every now and then, but my family didn't get much compensation! I thought if I joined the army, I could help them get food on their table in some way or another! Don't think I won't do my best to help you though! As long as I'm hear, my bow is yours, and I'll say, I'm quite handy with it! My arrow was the one that hit the head of that one soldier!" She gave a michevious smile aimed at Gordin, who looked away, since he was the one that barely hit his target's heart.

"Thank you, I'll be sure to keep you both handy when the time comes." Marth responded after the torrent of words that came from Norne.

"Now, lord Marth, I just want to let you know we're on our way to Talys. It's just remote enough to be safe to hide," Jagen brought up.

"Hmm… alright, understood." He looked at the cloudy sky one last time, mourning his father, mother, and unknown fate of his sister, before memories of Talys when he'd visited many a year ago with his father came to him. Memories of the ocean's sights and smells, of the market place. The most prevalent memory was of a blue haired girl whom he'd become very close with during his time there however…

 **Hello, all! I'm back after quite a while (though not too long.) Now, this is where the story starts to deviate a bit... mostly because I'm not sure if I would've been able to tell the story of all four prologues in detail without boring readers, so I tried to fit it altogether, and I think I did an... alright job at least. I'm excited to start getting into the nitty gritty of this tale. Hope you all are, too!**


	3. Chapter 3: Rising Courage

"What news do you bring me of Altea?" A deep voice asked in anticipation.

"Altea castle has fallen, and king Cornelius has been slain, as has the queen. The princess, before we could kill her, however, was detained on the orders of the dark bishop."

"That meddlesome–! what for?" The deep voice commanded. The demon was talented when it came to butting into his plans.

"He said he had use for her… maybe as a bargaining chip or distraction or something…?"

The general thought over the words for several minutes before running over what he said in his head again, "wait… why would he need a bargaining chip?" He asked with a face that was wary.

"W-well…" the soldier studdered – this was the hardest part of the news. "Prince Marth… escaped… along with several Altean soldiers…"

The general stared at the soldier for several seconds before angrily brushing him away. "Cornelius, you lucky dastard! Your pesky boy lives on… no matter – this war is ours." The general rode his horse away, suddenly being reminded of old times.

A young woman was walking through the corridors of the castle with a spring in her step – her long blue hair flowing behind her. "Milady

* * *

Caeda!" A voice called behind her, "where are you going? That's the way to the castle's southern edge!"

"Huh?" The girl looked behind her to see one of the maids of the castle. "I was just going to my pegasus."

"Whatever for?"

"W-well…" she was a bit embarrassed to say, but pushed the words out, "to see prince Marth."

"Err…" the maid paused, taken aback, "I've heard pirates running amuck down in the town… I believe sir Ogma and some others are down there keeping an eye out for any of them… but are you sure it's safe? Maybe wait until he comes back, he is your personal bodyguard after all."

"No, I'll be fine," Caeda spoke quickly before turning around,"besides, Sevier will help protect me if anything goes south!" Reaching the southern wing of the castle, a light whinny could be heard – it was Caeda's steed, Sevier, whom she'd fostered from a young age till now. "Hey, boy," she massaged his muzzle before saddling him a riding off, "now, where would Lord Marth be…"

* * *

"Hraaaaaa!" The clashing of wooden swords could be heard from a small grassy area.

*CLASH* "you put too much emphasis on power, leaving yourself wide open," a battle hardnened voice sounded between one clash. *WHOOSH* he stepped on the other's sword, "see, because you didn't have any real control over your blade, you couldn't recover in time, allowing me to step on your sword. If this was a real fight, you'd be dead."

"Eh… sorry, Ogma. You said you'd train me to use a sword, but I guess you didn't think I'd be such a hassle…"

"Hmm? No, not at all. I'm not what you'd call a teacher, but I'd say that most of your problems can be fixed with a bit more practice. While lances require stabbing the target in a precise manner and the axe mostly focuses on pure strength, the sword is the best of both worlds. You have weight behind each swing, but it isn't as hard to carry a sword as an axe, and while you do need precision, aside from the hilt, every part of a sword is deadly, unlike a lance. If you were to go toe-to-toe with someone using an axe right now, I think you'd do pretty well – I think when it comes to recognizing an opening you're fine. It comes with your precision that problems start occurring – you put too much weight behind your swings. Instead of trying to copy my style, which I'd say is kinda like an axeman's style since I'm a bit of a gladiator, wield your sword more like… a rapier maybe, put weight only in the front of your body, while maintaining a balance in the rest of your body to be prepared to parry.

"That's… a lot to take in…"

"Heh, sorry, training with any weapon is a bit complicated, but try it." The boy nodded before readying his dueling stance – his right hand, being his sword hand, pointing diagnally towards the ground while the rest of his body tensed behind the blade. "Alright… go!" Marth immediately sprung forward, thrusting at Ogma who deflected the blade away before returning with his own slash to the right. The air rushed past Marth's face as the wooden practice blade almost graced the top of his head. His sword swiped quickly at Ogma before he back stepped away, realizing that Marth took his advice to heart. He charged forward with his sword lifted up, ready to come crashing down. Marth had two options: dodge out of the way, or face it head on with a horizontal block. He chose the latter and the two men's swords clashed. Each one tried to gain the upper before Marth shifted the hilt of his sword into Ogma's blade, managing to get his sword right next to Ogma's neck. "Hmm… impressive. I can tell you've practiced with this style before."

"Yes… though my father disparaged it's use saying it's more worthwhile to know one that isn't so… 'fancy'."

"That's an interesting stance on the subject. Well, I think that might be good for now," they both lowered their practice weapons.

"Ah, Mr. Marth and Mr. Ogma! Would you like an apple? I just picked some and there's a couple I could spare!"

"Oh! Uh, yes, of course!" Marth humbly obliged.

"I'm fine. Thanks, though." Ogma declined. "So, I've been wondering." Marth gave him his full attention. "What are you going to use that sword for?" He gestured to the actual sword lying on a fence, "got dreams of being a warrior in the arena or something?"

"Ah… well…" Marth trailed off, unsure how he should phrase the fact that he's royalty and everything that happened in Altea. He'd been doing his very best to keep it a secret from the general populace of Talys.

"Ah, Marth!" A voice suddenly descended from the clouds to greet them – it was the beautiful princess of Talys, Caeda.

"Oh, uh, Caeda? What are you doing here?" Marth thanked the gods that sent her here to save him from answering Ogma's question.

"Bet you came to see the kid again, huh?" Ogma spoke quite brazenly towards the princess, despite being her personal bodyguard and all.

"Oh, be quiet Ogma." Caeda shot back with a playful grin. "Alright, so I know this is a little late," Caeda stopped in front of Marth, holding something behind her back, "but I got you something for your 16th birthday!"

"O-oh? Thank you, Caeda!" He glanced towards Ogma, "I'm surprised to be receiving a gift from royalty of all people!" In truth, it wasn't odd for Caeda to be seen among the people of Talys – it was a small country on the sea, and because of that, as well as Caeda's kind hearted nature, she remembered a lot of the people of her kingdom.

"Oh, posh, it's the least I could do!" She pulled out a small but golden circlet from behind her back, "it's a hair dressing from our western neighbor Valentia! There was a merchant in town this week and I thought it would be nice. It's said to bring luck to warriors." She said confidently before handing it over to him.

"I-I don't know what to say, Lady Caeda, it's beautiful. How much did this cost you?"

"In truth, it wasn't actually that expensive at all! Only a little bit of gold!"

"Ah..." Marth looked at the circlet, truly, it would be something he cherished for a long time. An inscription read, 'May the Gods Guide'. "I appreciate it Caeda, I can't thank you enough." The two looked at eachoer affectionetely with Ogma looking at them ammusedly.

"Well, I suppose I'll be going."

"Ah, see you next time, Ogma!" Marth nodded to him as he walked away.

"Of course, kid."

* * *

"Caeda…" the king stared down at his daughter, who was meekly silent. "You know I asked you to not visit Prince Marth so frequently – why, just yesterday, you followed him around the market, Ogma told me a lot of the townspeople were looking at both of you. We can't let anyone outside of the people in this room right now know he's the prince of Altea. If they did find out, it could jeapordize his party, and it could jeapordize Talys as a whole."

"Y-yes, father, I'm sorry…"

The aged man sighed with a smile that asked, 'what am I going to do with you?' "I know you hold him in high regard… and he is quite handsome," at those words Caeda turned bright red with embarrassment, "but you need to consider your actions before they have repercussions."

"O-…" still a little flustered, she pulled herself together, "okay, father… do you think there's another way that I could see him more often without raising suspicion?"

"Short of one or both of you masquerading, no." Her father laid out plainly. Finished, Caeda was allowed to leave and went straight to her room.

* * *

"Prince Marth… I think it's time we consider making a move."

"It's too soon." Marth answered back quickly.

"No, it's not." Jagen retorted.

"I've waited two years, what's a bit more time? My training is going well, I should be ready sooner or later."

"With all do respect, Lord Marth, you have only just started your training a couple weeks ago – something you should've done much earlier," Marth looked out through the window of his room in the eastern fortress where he was given lodging from the king. "Yes, we've been waiting two years - two years that have had the Dohlr empire and their comrades taking over Archanea. Who knows how long the capital will last… we can't afford to be twiddling our thumbs while Archanea falls. Not to mention, sooner or later, Talys will be next in line to be taken."

Marth stared out the window for several minutes before a flash caught his eye. "Wait a minute – Jagen, do you see that?" Jagen came forth and nodded. "You don't think-"

"Looks like a fire in the town! What will you do Prince Marth?" Jagen asked quickly.

Without hesitation Marth said, "What else can we do? We need to help the people down there."

A knock at the door sounded, it opened to show Draug out in the hall, "Princess Caeda has come from Talys castle, milord. She says it's urgent." A look of concern dawned on all their faces as they made their way outside the fortress to where Caeda was waiting.

"Oh, Marth, thank the gods!" She rushed towards him and embraced him as if she was afraid of something. "A huge band of pirates has attacked – not only the town, but the castle as well, my mother and father are in danger!" She tried her best to keep herself from panicking, "will you please help us?"

Marth stood for just a moment before coming to a conclusion that made Jagen smile, "of course. I will not let Talys be a second Altea, whether it be by traitors, or pirates." He turned to his comrades behind him, "are you all with me!" Each and every one of them raised their fists in triumph before going to prepare for battle.

After they were all ready, Caeda approached him, "Marth, while I may not look it, I have practiced with a lance before." She gestured behind her, "that's my Pegasus, Sevier, he and I will assist you as best we can."

"Caeda…" he looked at her, full of determination, "just don't go out of your way, alright? I don't want to see you get hurt." She nodded before hopping onto her Pegasus and taking into the sky to get a good view.

"Hmm… this'll be a nice warm-up." Cain, now clad in his shiny and newly polished red armor exclaimed while stretching next to his horse.

"Heh," a rare chuckle sounded from Abel's mouth, "I doubt any pirates will be able to stand against any of us."

"Be sure to watch yourselves, though," Frey added, "I don't think recklessness will help anyone – if anything, you'll be making more work for the rest of us to protect you."

"Come now, Frey, with Abel and I fighting together, I'm sure we'll be fine!" What Cain said was quite true, as the two cavaliers were considered near unstoppable when fighting together, due to training together for a majority of their lives as knights and their deep trust in each other.

"Neither of you have fought for awhile, so I think it'd still be wise to be a bit more cautious than usual…" Draug looked at Cain, "more so Cain than Abel." Cain would later be known as the bull for being more often than not recklessly leading the charge, while Abel would be coined the Panther for his cleverness and habit of getting Cain out of some fishy situations.

"Oh, come on, Draug!"

Gordin and Norne, on the other hand, were exchanging quips, with Norne exclaiming she'll make some excellent shots, with Gordin simply saying, "well… I'll be sure to keep up!" Gordin was characterized as lacking a little self esteem, something that didn't happen as much with Norne around – perhaps a little competition was good for him.

Jagen came up behind Marth, "are you ready milord? Malledus told me he will stay back and start packing for us."

"Today, we start our movement towards retaking Altea. Let's move!" Marth put on the circlet Caeda gave him and pushed forward with determination. Unknown to him, this would beging a legend that would endure for all of time.


	4. Chapter 4: Marth Embarks

Flames rose from houses and screams were heard all around. Cries of fear at the new found strength of the pirates filled the village.

"heh," one of the rouges spied an older woman on the ground nursing a wound at her ankle, "what have we here? A speck of dust still reaching for life?" The woman retreated in panic at the sight of him raising his axe before a sharp cry erupted from his mouth. A clank resounded as his axe fell to the ground – his right hand had an arrow lodged in it now, "gods! Who the -!" Before he could muster out anymore a second arrow struck him in his heart and downed him.

"For all these pirate's moxie, they sure as don't have any armor protecting 'em!" A sprightly voice called from behind the newly made corpse, "are you okay miss?" It was a pink haired girl – Norne. The woman could only muster a nod before she pointed in a panic behind Norne at the axe that seemed to have materialized right above her head.

"NORNE!" Another voice called before a great crash and yelp came from behind her – it was Draug, it seemed in her checking on the woman she was almost jumped before he intervened with a shield bash. "You need to be more careful!"

"Ah! I'm sorry Draug! Didn't mean to worry you!" After deflecting an axe from the brigand he toppled over, his lance ended the skirmish quickly.

He cast a caring look on her, "please, just be more careful, alright?"

"Heh, well, at least I've got a great shield in the shape of a man right in front of me!" She said with an enigmatic smile before turning to the wounded woman. Draug, on the other hand, scanned around intently for any other signs of life - whether hostile or not.

"Alright," after Norne had finished with her, "it seems like she was the last survivor of this poor town, as she was wounded while looking for any others."

"I suppose after escorting her out of this hellfire, we should return to Lord Marth who's charging towards the castle."

* * *

Marth clenched his teeth as he downed another brigand, still not entirely use to the prospect of being another man's undoing, the thought of doing this for Caeda and repaying the kindness of King Talys was what kept him going. Cain, Abel, Frey, Gordin and Jagen on the other hand fought as confidently as ever, Jagen giving directions to the others on certain battle choices. Cain and Abel became a tag team of death, dancing around the battlefield with swords and lances skewering the enemies. Frey and Gordin mostly picked up the scraps that they left behind.

*CLANG* a brigand's axe collided with Marth's sword, "hmm… interestin', you seem quite different from these knights… you a general or something?"

Marth gritted his teeth even more as the axe began to weigh heavy down on him – this one was tougher then some others. He barely swatted away his axe before his sword began to cut into his cheek, slashing the brigands stomach ended the duel. "Are you alright, milord?" Jagen asked, suddenly beside him, "that was a close one, I was on my way as quickly as possible, but…"

"No, no, I'm fine, I was just caught off guard is all…"

"I've asked the other 4 to regroup as we wait for Norne and Draug to catch up."

"Why? Isn't using up more time a bad idea in this circumstance?" Marth inquired.

"Actually, no, this village is not aflame yet over there," he gestured to the second village that seemed perfectly fine, "but it's guarded by quite a few pirates. I don't think Cain and Abel's reckless strategy will work forever, especially since they're prepared for us now."

"Alright, we're here!" Cain said from a slight distance with Abel and Frey following from behind, "Gordin is a little bit behind but should be here shortly."

"Cain…" the red knight grunted, knowing what was coming, " I know you're eager to get back to fighting to avenge those you believe you betrayed with cowardice two years ago, but don't charge head first into the enemy – you're lucky Abel was there to pick up the slack! You made plenty of risky moves!"

"With all due respect, sir Jagen, was that the only reason you called us here?" Cain asked impatiently.

"No, of course not, I believe it will be wise to wait for Norne and Draug to catch up first before continuing," Gordin approached the group silently, as Jagen was speaking, "we originally caught the enemy by surprise, but they're aware of us now." He once more gestured to the village," over there is another village, but it's surrounded by pirates ready to defend against us-"

"Come now, Jagen, you mustn't think we're so soft that we can't handle a couple more thugs!"

"No, it's not that. They don't seem to be destroying that village, there might be something there that's important, so I propose we approach with a bit more tact, there might be more bandits then what we can see. As well, it seems that fighting has died down at the castle, I don't hear anymore noise coming from it at the moment… I hate to say it, but it sounds as if Talys castle is taken –"

"Alright, I'm back," a voice came from the sky as it descended," I can confirm that the fighting has indeed stopped. Unfortunately, I couldn't get too close due to archers…" she looked around, "wait, why have you all stopped?"

"We're just waiting for Draug and Norne to reach us," Marth saw two figures in the distance one larger than the other," which seems won't be too long a wait." He pointed towards the two. "Caeda…" She perked up at the sound of her name, "I believe we could use all the help we can get when we charge… I hate to put you in any danger, but could you help us take on the men around this next village?"

"Yes of course!" She said immediately, happy to prove useful to Marth's cause, "I will fight to the best of my ability!"

"You don't have any quarrels with killing? If need be?" He added.

"With these men? No, I think not. They've been terrorizing my people for far too long, I'm sure they wouldn't even think twice about killing me!" She said with clenched fists unbefitting of a princess," besides, they threatened my family, I can't ignore that either."

Marth stood speechless, "heh."

"W-what's funny?" Caeda asked warily.

"Nothing… It's just that you're so much stronger than me…" he looked at her with a smile that made her look away blushing. The other knights listened in, understanding his self-depreciating meaning, but saying nothing.

"Sorry we took so long to catch up! Is everything alright?"

"Yes," Jagen lead on, "we were simply waiting for you both. Now that we're all here, I'd actually already been thinking of a couple plans of approach for that village over there…"

* * *

Along with themselves, Draug and Norne actually had brought a hefty sum of gold rounded up by the surviving villagers who wished to help the knights, as well as some information. The pirates, who were lead by a man named Gazzak, sought to give Talys to Dohlr since they feared them – therefore, it was safe to say that the king and queen were hopefully unharmed or at least alive. "Alright, are they in position?" Jagen asked quickly. Cain was asked as he was running towards the entrance to the fort they had discovered.

"Yeah, they're both ready to let death fly at a moments notice."

"Alright, then…" the grizzly man poked his head out of the entrance after beckoning Cain to prepping his sword and hiding. A shrill whistle from Jagen followed by several arrows aimed straight for the pirates below caused the brigands to take cover in the fort – the same one the Altean knights were in. A small nod from Jagen had Draug ready to meet each one at the entrance, while Cain, Abel, and Frey all went out the side of the fort on their horses to flank them. Surprised by the sudden emergence of enemies, the bandits fell quickly to each of their weapons. Not all of them were tricked however, two brigands and an archer were still hanging back, the archer desperately returning fire to Gordin and Norne above.

"HA!" He failed to notice the archers in the fort cease fire as a Pegasus knight, with lightning speed, skewered him right through before returning to the sky – the display put the other two brigands into panic. The rest of the Knights managed to close the distance between them, causing one of the two to haphazardly attack Marth, who dodged carefully before slashing at his head. The other was, once again, taken by the lighting fast warrior in the sky.

"Excellent work everyone!" Jagen praised them all, "especially you, Princess Caeda, I could've sworn you were as a true knight."

The girl blushed at the compliment as she descended, "well, I have been practicing a long while."

"No need to be so modest, Caeda, your display was breathtaking – it was as if you were lightning striking!" Marth said, which made her blush even more. "I think now, however, we should get to checking out this village…" I wonder why they didn't destroy it…"

* * *

The answer wasn't what they expected. The town was abandoned, the people here must've noticed something was up and gone into hiding, so, while every house had been violated, there seemed to have been no need of a fire to flush out any people. "Ooh…"

Marth heard a slight groan from inside another door, "ah! Are you alright?" It was an old man lying on the floor with several young kids around him, "Jagen, get me a vulnerary!" The youth called back before checking on the man.

"I have a vulnerary, milord, but what's –" he understood when he saw the man.

"Here, drink this, it won't magically heal you, but it will ease the pain and get your systems working faster." He gave the old man the medicine and propped him up on the wall. "What happened here?" Marth asked to the congregation of kids.

"W-well…" one boy came forward, "bad men attacked us and hurt poor Mr. Wrys… this here's an orphanage, so we didn't have anything here of value, but they didn't know that till after hurting him…" he was on the verge of tears after relaying the events.

Marth embraced him quickly, "it's okay now," he shushed him gently, "the bad men are gone. You're safe now." At this, the other kids came forward to huddle around this new individual who had a kind heart that had a brightness to it that warranted them to be closer to its warmth.

The old man began to move as the other Knights crowded outside the room, aside from Caeda, who also chipped in with calming down the kids, also being well liked with them. Jagen came to his side, "can you move at all?"

"Yes… I've always been told I'm rather tough for my age…" he chuckled softly as he slowly got up with Jagen's help. "Who do you serve, sir knight? King Talys?"

"No… ahh...," He struggled to decide what to say next.

"Prince Marth of Altea." the youth now stood up, leaving the mass of children still scared.

"Altea, you say?" The man was understandably shocked, "but I thought that Altea was destroyed – and Hope along with it."

"No, I escaped and have been here for the last 2 years… running… but, no longer, I had hidden my identity, but I believe it's time to shed such things."

The man wasn't quite convinced, it was possible they could be bandits posing as royalty. "I… how can I know you're not lying to me…?" He didn't say it rudely, but with some concern.

"Unfortunately, I don't have any way to prove it to you… but as far as my word can take me, I do promise I'm telling the truth." The man still doubted till he looked at the youth's eyes, they weren't the eyes of a brigand waiting to pounce on his prey – they were the eyes of a boy who was hurt and needed support. The eyes of a boy who was kind and genuine. "Well, I suppose we need to be on our way to Talys castle to help the king." He was about to leave when Wrys stopped him.

"Hold, please, milord." Jagen, Marth, and Caeda who was beginning to get up, stopped, "please, allow me to help you in this endeavor. I'm a humble curate, yes, but I'm sure healing is something that could prove quite useful in this fight you're fighting."

"A-are you sure? What about these kids?"

"I have an assistant for that!" Wrys said confidently.

"Will it be just for this… or will you join us for more?" Marth asked cautiously.

"I…" He thought heavily on it, "I will aid you as best I can. I can see that this journey you embark on… it would be wiser for me to accompany you."

Marth instantly brightened, "thank you so much, Wrys! I'm sure you'll be an invaluable asset to the group!" After sorting everything out with the tiny orphanage, the four came outside to Draug and Gordin sharing a nice chat between friends while the rest looked at the old man with questioning glances.

* * *

"They've got the castle barred down… perhaps if we had a few more men we could make it inside, but –"

"Yes, I know, we're a little thin on recruits due to the surprise attack…" the grizzly swordsman, Ogma, cut off one of the men under him.

"Hmm… I don't suppose…"

"You have an idea?" Ogma asked quickly.

"I… no I guess not," the man put his head down in shame, unsure of what to do.

A knock at the door sparked them all into readying their weapons. When the knocking continued and no one moved, the atmosphere of the room became even more tense. "Hey! Ogma! Come on, are you in here? It's me: Caeda!" All the men breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door. Caeda, Marth, and all the Knights cycled in.

"Kid? What are you doing here?"

"Well… I owe a debt to King Talys, so Caeda guided my knights and I here to help with retaking the castle!"

"W-wait…" Ogma relaying the sentence in his head, "YOUR knights?"

"Err…" Marth realizing that explaining this will be tough, "we-"

"Marth is the prince of Altea. My father, king Talys, and our family have let him be in hiding for the past two years in the eastern fortress." Caeda quickly butted in with a very seemingly rehearsed line.

Ogma was speechless for a moment. "Y-you can't be serious."

"Ogma," Caeda didn't back down, "as princess of Talys, I completely vouch for the truth of Marth's words and implore you to allow him and his knights to help."

"Well…" Ogma looked deep in her eyes, the eyes of the girl that protected her years ago from abuse at the hands of a torturer. She wore the same look now, a look of determination and empathy. "Alright, then, ki – er, Prince Marth, will you and your knights help us?"

* * *

"hold on! You're about to enter the castle, so who are you?" A man acting as the guard to the castle stopped the party in their tracks. The plan was to disguise themselves as pirates from the fallen brigands belongings to sneak their way in.

"relax, I'm with Gazzak, just like you." Ogma said, sounding very believable as a pirate. "we actually managed to capture the princess, so we were gonna take her to him." He gestured toward Caeda being "restrained" by Jagen.

"Ah, okay, head on in. Be careful, though. I heard Gazzak was mighty angry when he heard she had escaped." Ogma curtly nodded before leading the little group of soldiers in disguise into the castle. They trudged through hall after hall till reaching the throne. Along the way, Norne and Gordin broke off from the group and headed to the upper level to see if they could get a good sniper spot.

"Hmm? What do we have here?" It was Gazzak. A large man as one would expect being a pirate leader, it looked like a single fist of his could snap a small village maiden in two. "I don't want any disturbances if it's not important." The guard had been right, he was very unpleased.

"We captured Princess Caeda." Ogma pulled her by the arm and shoved her forward, quietly apologizing to her in his head.

Gazzak's head popped up at this, before it curled into an ugly smile. "Well, the princess returns…" he paused before looking at the group. "You can leave now." However, they didn't comply. Ogma let out a shrill whistle which, once again, heralded the launching of arrows. Gazzak was nailed in his left arm but narrowly avoided the second one. "BOYS, GET IN HERE!" Immediately, the entire throne room filled with bandits. "Heh, so, you were all knights in disguise… I had my suspicions, since I don't remember having such a big guy under me," he gestured to Draug, who cursed himself quietly. The group let down their disguises and armed themselves quickly before taking on the assault of foes head on. Abel swatted away an axe aimed for his neck with his sword before stabbing his opponent through the heart. Cain slashed one of the pirates heads off while dodging another's axe. Draug, while not taking much damage in the fight because of his armor, was having a bit of a hard time making glancing blows on his enemies with his lance, which Gordin seemed to realize and gave support from his perch above to Draug as well as the rest.

Norne was busy keeping any pirates away from Gordin with her bow and a knife she kept with her. "Huh? You have a knife?" Gordin asked through shots.

"Yup, I'm good with it too! Got it from a good friend of mine once upon a time!" She said before noticing a pirate creeping up and taking him out by dodging a strike from him and slashing his neck. Wrys was doing an able job avoiding combat and healing any comrades with his staff, Jagen and Frey made it their main duty to stick close to him so he didn't go down. As well, Ogma and his few allies did their own fair share of work.

Caeda was unarmed and currently fleeing from an approaching Gazzak, "come 'ere, you, you've caused quite a bit of trouble!"

Marth stepped in front of her, since all the other knights seemed to be preoccupied. "Not a step a closer!" He was determined to win this day and protect Caeda and save Talys.

"So, the tiny knight thinks he can stand up against me?" He brought up his axe and smashed it against Marth's quickly raised sword, who barely deflected it. The two had a duel to see who could gain the upper hand before another arrow from a Gordin between clashes gave Marth a chance to end him. "Guh… n-no way…" and with those last words, the fighting ceased soon enough when the pirates found their leader had fallen.

* * *

After the rest were detained and the royal family was found and patched up, King Talys requested an audience with all the knights who fought that day. "So… I take it you plan to leave us now?" Marth nodded. "I see…" the king paused. "As you know, King Cornelius and I were quite good friends, and it has made me happy to at least prepare for you a roof above your head and food to eat for the past two years… I will not allow you to leave without me giving you at least a bit more help." He paused once more, "Ogma."

"…yes, your majesty?" Ogma said apprehensively.

"You and some of your trusted warriors are to go with Marth to accompany him."

"Heh, in just a few days, I went from being a teacher to being a subject of the kid…" Ogma said to himself, slightly amused, as well as taken aback a bit.

"Marth… a word of advice. People have been living without hope for two whole years, in that time, people have been forced to submit or face the sword. The sign of Altea will give them hope – the sign of the bloodline of the great hero Anri, the warrior who defeated Medeus a century ago with the Falchion. These people, who were forced to submit, may just rally to your cause, enemy by happenstance or not. This war you will wage will pit you against many, with very few allies in tow, so remember this."

"Thank you, King Talys, you serve my father's memory proud." Marth bowed courteously, before starting to make his way out of the throne room.

"Hold on!" It was Caeda. "I…" she paused for a second, collecting her thoughts, "I want to join Lord Marth's cause and fight alongside him!" The room fell silent.

"Caeda!" King and Queen Talys said in unison,"I can't possibly allow you to risk your life as such! You're my daughter, I can't stomach-"

"No, I'm sorry, but this is something I must do," she cut off her father,"… yes, I understand it's dangerous, but… " she struggled to find the words, "I must go with him. He needs all the help he can get, and if I don't offer my support, why… I'm no better than a craven who fears for their own life over the good of the world!"

Both the king and Queen were completely speechless, unable to give an answer that will suffice her. "Your highness, " Ogma speaks up, "I promise that I will do everything in my power to keep her safe – even risking my own life if need be. It is my duty as her personal body guard after all."

"Ogma…" the king says slowly," I…"

"You know how she is like this, she won't ever change her mind. Please, I promise you can trust me."

… the king brooded for several minutes before sighing, "I suppose you're right, that is her stubborn face… we do well to trust in you Ogma, don't let us down." Ogma bows and the group cycles out of the room with all the knights of Talys as well as the king and Queen pray for the safety of the whole party. Soliciting a ship, the group headed towards Galder, a close harbor on the mainland of Archanea...

 **Hey, guys, sorry this chapter took quite a deal longer to finish than my last three (and I'm not sure if that'll be a common occurrence). However, I was actually on a week long vacation, so I got to work on it a tad late.**

 **As always, if you have any opinions on this, feel free to write a review or something. Have a great rest of your day and God bless.**


	5. Chapter 5: Towards the Mainland!

**To begin, I'd like to apologize for the ending of the last chapter. I mistakenly said the group left through Galder harbor when that's, in truth, the first part they find themselves on the mainland. To anyone who was confused, I'm sorry, and I fixed it. If you're a new reader, this message isn't important. With that out of the way: here's the next chapter:**

* * *

The quiet splashing of the waves on the ship brought the prince back to two years ago – on the evening he was forced away from his homeland. While he was mutely staring out at the full blue in front of him, the rest of the soldiers under his command were convening behind him. While Marth had been curteous to the three new warriors now in his service – Bord, Cord, and Barst – he wished to be alone on the front of the ship. The sea helped him think in a way. The rhythm of the waves were enchanting to him.

"So… are you two brothers? Or…" Norne asked, confused.

"No! We may look alike, but we're all just comrades, nothing more!" One of the two spikey brown haired mercenaries said.

"Yeah, we're not related in the slightest!" The two who were being questioned were Bord and Cord, two Talysian mercenaries who looked startlingly similar – much to their annoyance. The two had a very bitter rivalry with each other, made evident by their constant counter-boasting.

"How's the sea treating you, Barst? Those two are as rowdy as ever, but you've been pretty quiet. Anything wrong?" Ogma asked the similarly spiked blue haired fighter.

"Hmm? Oh, no, I'm fine, just not really looking forward to fighting in a war. I was never a fan of killing, that was always your specialty."

"If you didn't want to come, I could've let you off the hook."

"Well… when you're involved, it's bound to be pretty fun." Barst said with a slight chuckle. "Besides, I probably would've felt bad if I DIDN'T come. Didn't lend my axe."

Jagen approached the two leaning on the side of the ship, joining them, "Barst was it?" Receiving a nod, Jagen continued, "well met," he said as he offered his currently unarmored hand to shake."I'm Jagen. I've heard that all three of you are rather talented in the way of combat, pleasure to have you with us."

"I was just saying that it feels quite nice to lend my axe to a good cause – to be honest, I was kinda rethinking if mercenary work was really for me, so this is kind of like dipping my toes in a new puddle." Jagen chuckled at the analogy. "By the way… Is everything alright with prince Marth? While we were introducing ourselves, he seemed a tad distant."

"Ah… it's probably about Altea and his family. He's probably eager to return and liberate it." Barst made a face that regretted asking, as it should've been obvious.

Cain made his way over, "is this where all the men are collecting?" Gingerly, he took his spot next to Ogma. The red knight was wearing some simple plain clothes, also red, as it was his favorite color.

"I would've expected to see that green knight Abel with you…" Ogma asks slowly.

"We're not attached at the hip, you know…" Cain says back, slightly unnerved. "We're just sworn fighting partners, that's all."

"Really…? I usually see you two together in what little time you've been up top like this."

"Yeah, I guess I could see why you'd think that now…" he takes the moment to think. "Well, I'm not saying we aren't friends, there's no mistaking it, brother in arms for life I'd say," he puffs up proudly, "he and I, together, are probably the best knights in Altea," at this Jagen raises his eyebrow but remains quiet. "Don't mistake our proud camaraderie for being best friends like those two over there." He points to Draug and Gordin brusquely, "while there's no man I'd rather trust my life with… we're two vastly different people. I'd be the first to tell you that I'm a rather talkative individual, but Abel? Why, he's a man of few words. I doubt many understand him very well, I remember many others looking at him apprehensively during our days as junior knights. I suppose, over the years, he's definitely opened up to me, so we can talk about mundane things, but, admittedly, conversations can get rather dull with him sometimes."

"Where exactly is he now?" Jagen asks from behind.

"Yeah… the reason we were around each other a lot yesterday is…" he scratched the back of his head, "he didn't feel well all day. We later found out after some spit up lunch that he was getting sea sick."

"Shouldn't that have been pretty obvious, you are on a ship…" Barst, who had been rather quiet for most of the conversation, pointed out this fact. Cain simply answered with a shrug.

"Yeah, I guess, but it doesn't change anything. He's below deck recovering."

"Gordin," the deep voice of Draug seemed impressed, "I gotta say, you did really well that last battle, whether you believe or not, you're really improving!" He slapped him on his back.

"Gah! Err… you really think so?"

"Come on! Do you think I'd joke about something like that? I swear you were the most integral part for everyone on the lower level! I was a bit crowded and those bandits were sprightly guys, but whenever I needed help, it was your arrows that delivered."

Gordin was used to his good friend pilling on the compliments, but couldn't help but feel proud of himself,"well, I've still got a ways to go."

"Of course, we all do, you, me, everyone on this ship who's fighting with us." He took a relaxed position on the bench next to Gordin, "the important part is that we all fight together to the best of our ability."

"Draug… I think I sometimes don't say this enough, but… I'm just so glad to have such a positive and reliable friend like you!"

"Likewise, little buddy. I had no idea that on that fateful day, all those years ago, when we locked eyes on our first day being guards, I'd just met my best friend." Draug gave him a playful noogie.

"H-hey!"

"Well, now, what's all the commotion?" Frey says, appearing from beside Draug.

"Oh, heh, nothing, just two friends enjoying some downtime, Frey," Draug answers back.

"You've both been working quite hard, enjoy it." With that, Frey walks off. Not a moment later, he later sees Bord and Cord almost at eachother's throats over who's better at wood cutting – a greatly amused Norne is there ready to burst into laughter at the two. "Guys…" they two look at him quickly, "quiet down a little. Save the fighting for our enemies…" he paused once more before pointing, "also…" the two look behind them at a Wrys giving a very unsettling face of annoyance.

"Sorry…" they say in unison.

Frey ambles over to the old man, "are you doing alright?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm doing well enough for an old man. I must say, it's rather different to be around all you knights and warriors… I feel a little out of place," he says with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I can see that…" he looks around at all the different soldiers among them. Ogma, Jagen, Cain and Barst are talking quietly, Draug and Gordin are sharing a friendly laugh – probably at a joke the former told -, Norne has snuck off to join the two, sharing in the laugh, and Bord and Cord have gone their separate ways helping out the other sailors that have lent their ship. Looking around, Frey noticed Caeda slowly inching up to the spaced out Marth.

"Those two make quite a pair." Wrys chuckles quietly to himself. "Ah, young love."

"Heh. Let's not be thinking too forward on it yet, Milord is still mighty focused on his goal." While he says this, though, he can't help but wonder if the curate was on to something.

"Marth, are you okay?" She received no response. "Marth?" Dropping her originally caring voice, she just sounded confused now. "Marth!" She said sharply once more.

"Huh?!" Marth said in quite a bit of shock. "O-oh, sorry, Caeda…I was just lost in thought… I didn't mean to be rude…" he said deeply apologetically.

"N-no, I just…" she collects herself, "you've been rather quiet and reserved… I was worried."

Marth looked at her worried expression with remorse, "I'm sorry for making you worried… I just… I feel like I've waited too long for this… my homeland has been debased by those…" he stops himself before going further and looks back out to sea, "I just want to reach Altea, to see my sister to safe, to be back with my parents…" Caeda could tell where this display was going, "but I guess… it can't ever be that way again, can it…" he keeps staring out to sea before looking back at her again with a pained smile. "Listen to me ramble on, these are not things you want to hear. I promise, I'm doing fine, just anxious I suppose. It's like I'm only just now realizing my destiny."

"Well, I'll be there every step of the way beside you!" Caeda says quickly. "I'll be there when you find your sister, and take back Altea! All of it!" She says it confidently, taking Marth by surprise with how serious it was. "I promise to make sure you're doing fine." She walks up closer to him, "please, Marth, if there's anything you need to talk about… I swear I'll listen."

Marth stares into her deep blue eyes, filled with a warmth that reminds him of his sister – strong and uplifting. Marth's pained smile curls into a sincere one, "thank you Caeda. I'll make sure to keep that in mind…" the discussion over, the two look out to sea together for several minutes in silence before noticing something coming up from the horizon.

"Prince Marth," It was Malledus, "we're approaching land…" Marth's expression hardens into a face of determination, "this is where our journey truly begins."

"Yes." Marth says with a new found confidence given to him from the woman beside him, "yes it is."

* * *

"Might I ask what the rush is?" The old voice asked the green haired youth scurrying from place to place around his room, grabbing various things.

"I think you know as well as I, master Wendell."

"Are you sure you want to go to war, Merric? It's –"

"Yes, I know it's dangerous," Merric says as he grabs another trinket and throws it into his bag. "However, I've heard that a certain royal has freed Talys. Not long ago either."

"Wait…" the old one paused for a second, "you don't mean-"

"Yes, precisely," Merric said quickly," Marth IS alive, and he's coming to do something about Dohlr, I know it!" He said it excitedly.

"I-I've never seen you so excited before. You aren't excited to use the spells at your disposal to hurt people right? Excalibur choose you because it thought you of a pure heart, if you start going on a massacre-"

"Relax, master," Merric finally stood up, ready for the trip, "I'm excited to see my friend after two years of thinking him dead." Wendell breathes a quiet sigh of relief.

"What if it's not him?"

"I have absolute faith it's him!" Merric said back evenly before exiting his room with Wendell following him out into the permeated streets of the magic city of Khadein.

"Which tomes will you be bringing with you?"

"Blizzard and Excalibur. Do you think that's enough?" Wendell gives a slight nod before the youth takes off, waving behind him with a bright smile on his face, "see you soon!" The young man was as positive as usual.

"Just come back safe," Wendell said quietly to himself, still waving.

* * *

 **So, we're finally about to hit the mainland of Archanea! Who's excited! ...I dunno, I'm trying to sound witty, but... whatever. Anyway, I feel like this chapter took me a tad longer to write because I had to put a lot of thought into each conversation (I'm still kinda iffy on some of them). Yes, I know that not every character had a ton of time in the spotlight despite it being a pretty exposition heavy chapter - I have plans for future chapters to have similar purposes.**

 **Like always, feel free to write a review or whatever you need to do to critique the story! God bless and have a wonderful day!**


	6. Chapter 6: A Swift Liberation

A knock at the door made the store owner perk his head up, "welcome!"

"Ah, yes, thank you." An old man walked in – a small white beard on his face. Behind him was another older man, but this one was in full armor.

"Err… I'm surprised to see a man of your age in an armory like this…" he gestured around to all the swords and axes, as well as some of the bows he had as well, "the only ones who still come here are…" he trailed off, suddenly wearing a worried expression.

"Might I ask who you were referring to?" The armored man asked warily.

"Where are you heading?"

"We're heading towards Archanea." The owner grimaced at the answer.

"I suppose there's no harm in telling you as long as you think you can handle yourselves in a fight… is this all you have in your party?" He gestured to the other man to which the armored one shook his head.

"My name is Jagen, this here with me is Malledus. We're traveling with a curious group of warriors."

"Hmm… well… if you want to make your way out of Galder, you'll need to either sneak out or fight your way out…" Jagen raised his eyebrow at this, "we may not look it, but recently… pirates have made Galder their hideout. They constantly tax us ridiculous amounts of money. The only reason they haven't gutted me yet is that I do still get honest customers from time to time, but they usually end up being scummy knights from Gra or Dohlr – still hunting that lost prince of Altea no doubt." Jagen and Malledus looked at each other for a brief moment.

"We'll be buying some supplies for the journey. Thank you for the tip."

"Well then, let's see what I can fix you with for your trip."

* * *

While Jagen and Malledus went to the armory to make sure they were prepared for the journey ahead, Frey, Cain, and Abel waiting outside if they needed help, all the others went into the marketplace to browse the wares while they waited. "I would've never guessed you were a fan of antiques…" Draug said wistfully as he watched the pink haired girl in front of him.

"Since I was a little girl I've always been fascinated with art. There was even this one kid in my village who dreamed of being an artist and carved the darndest things outta' wood." She said as she was observing a small wooden idol of a goddess in her hands.

"Well, it's nice to know something about you that doesn't include violence I guess…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Norne asked with a confused look on her face.

"Uhh…" Draug paused for a second, "nothing, just an observation that I don't know too much about you. Unlike the other knights, I haven't spent years in training alongside you."

Realization dawned on her before she cracked a cheerful smile, "ah, okay, that makes sense." She put the idol down next to another one, "so… what's your relationship with him? You two seem to be very close… he hasn't left your side." She asked Draug about the green haired archer who was observing a pair of archery gloves he thought looked quite nice.

"Well…" Draug checked to make sure he was out of earshot, "he's not really that outgoing, so he prefers hanging around me." Once more she nodded in understanding.

* * *

"Excuse me, could I ask you question?" Marth, with Caeda tagging along behind him, had found himself in a tavern, looking for information.

"Well… why have you come here?"

"I've heard that this tavern in particular has a certain bartender who knows the topography quite well…" Marth lead on, "perhaps for the right price?" He held up a purse full of gold in front him for a moment before revealing several gold pieces. "Will this suffice?"

"Hmm… what do you want to know?"

"What's the quickest way to the kingdom or Aurelis?"

"An area called the Samsooth Mountains… people around these parts call them the Ghoul's Teeth. The place is overrun with bandits, though, so it's dangerous. I hear they've gotten a newer recruit that's more so."

"Do you know of a way to get around them?" Marth asked quickly.

"I do, I've been there before." All three turned to see a pirate walking up to them.

"One of Galder's pirates!" The bar tender said quickly before the pirate raised his hands slightly, trying to calm him down.

"No, no! I used to be with them, but no longer!"

"Yeah, and I'm farmer who's sworn off rain!" The bartender would have none of his excuses.

"Please, come this way!" Marth said quickly, pulling the pirate with him out of the tavern, "you know a way to get around the bandits at the samsooth mountains?"

"Yes! My name's Darros! I used to be a member of the pirates 'round here…" he looked away, pained.

"What changed your mind?" Caeda, who'd been quiet for most of the time suddenly butted in.

"In actuality, I was once just part of a simple fishing boat, but my family needed money… so I took up piratin' as soon as possible for several years. I'd gotten them much money, but I've had to do unspeakable things…" Marth and Caeda exchanged a glance of compassion for the man.

"I'm sorry, Darros… I originally wasn't sure if you were being truthful or not…" she lamented.

"Would you be willing to do some honest work under me? Not just guiding my group and I, but fighting alongside us?" Marth offered.

The man was speechless, "you'd trust a pirate so readily?" They both nodded simultaneously.

"I trust you. Enough to enlist your help. We're a small group of knights and warriors on our way to Aurelis, as I'm sure you heard." The man was touched.

"Thank you, sir..?" He lead on to give him his name.

"Marth."

"Marth…? Where have I heard that name before…?" The two, once more exchanged an amused grin before they explained the truth to him.

* * *

"Ah, there you are." Marth heard Jagen behind him and saw him, Malledus, Cain, Abel, and Frey carrying plenty of weapons for the group.

"What is it, Jagen?"

"Are you aware of the pirate problem around these parts?"

"Yes, Darros here, a deserter, filled us in on everything, and he'll also be joining our group."

Jagen knew better then to fight him on this, and trusted Marth had thought about it, "what do you plan to do about the pirates?" Marth gave him a look that instantly answered his question, "I thought so…" and with that he turned and rounded up all the warriors to plan an attack.

"Hm?" Caeda had noticed the face of someone who looked familiar passing through the alleyway and began to approach them. "Excuse me!" The figure looked back before turning back around and picking up speed with Caeda trying to keep up. "Wait! Hold on! You look like someone I know!" It was no use, the person escaped. "I could've sworn he looked like –"

"Caeda, are you okay?" She found Marth behind her looking a bit concerned, "you ran quite far from the rest of the Knights."

"Yes, I'm fine, I thought I saw a familiar face… but I scared them off."

"Are you okay?" He noticed the hurt look on her face.

"Yes, I'm fine, if a tad unhappy… well, let's return to the others. We have a plan, right?" Marth nodded as he led her back before he noticed some movement passed the same alleyway.

"Hold on… I saw something, or someone, move." He started to move through the alleyway, "hello? I promise we mean you no harm!" No answer.

"Marth, look out!" An axe could be seen from the corner of his eye and he narrowly dodged it, but was left stumbling, unable to draw his own steel. The axe, which was now easily seen as being wielded by a pirate, continued the assualt before a sword protruded from his back before groaning and crumpling to the ground. "Are you okay?!" Caeda said in a panic as she came to his side to help him up, the sword with the pirate's blood on it in her right hand. He'd forgotten that Caeda had requested to have a sword in case she encountered enemies on foot.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, just shaken." He stood up with his legs slightly trembling, "you saved me, Caeda. Not once, but twice."

"Hmm? Twice? When was the first time." She looked genuinely confused.

"When you talked me out of my brooding. I was dealing with some unpleasant thoughts, like if this fight was truly worth it or not. When you told me that you would be willing to bare my struggles along with me… it was empowering." She blushed before both of them noticed raised voices from afar, towards the main group's position, "well, I think we found our pirates."

* * *

"Alright then, Darros, could you tell us what your former comrades have as a main base?" Cain prodded, making his mistrust apparent.

"Well…" he looked a little defeated, "in actuality, the pirates of Galder don't neccesarily have a main base. I suppose, yeah, the leader set up lodging out there at that abandoned fort," he pointed to a far away structure, "but no one's there now, probably. You see, they tend to hide in the alleyways and crowds of people…"

Cain looked like he was about to say something rather rude before Abel interrupted him, "perhaps if we ask around for the leader, someone of the public could know… do you know his name, Darros?" Unlike Cain, Abel was rather polite, which eased Darros a bit.

"Yeah, his name is-"

"Gomer. my name's Gomer. The name of your end!" In a flash the group found themselves surrounded by pirates. "we heard a little thing about a bunch of people wanting to take us out?"

Cain looked back at Darros with accusing eyes, who shook his head quickly. "I promise, I'm not doublecrossing you!"

Gomer didn't seem surprised at all to see him here, "I knew you were too soft for this line of work."

"What do you take us for? Harmless civilians?" Frey stepped forward along with Jagen, "we're knights and warriors, we won't be bested so easily." He drew his new sword and readied it, as did Ogma and the others. Gordin and Norne prepped their bows, Draug brought up his lance, Wrys stood by for healing, and Darros and the three Talysian mercenaries grabbed their axes from their belts.

Gomer glared fiercely at them, "I'll show you just how weak you all are. This is the last time you 'dignified' knights ever think you're higher than the ones who have to fight to survive."

* * *

Marth and Caeda were sneaking behind the congregation of pirates moving to encircle the main group, hiding behind a couple crates, "seems they have them surrounded…" Marth spoke quietly.

Caeda barely heard him, though, as she saw something that made her stop for a moment – the familiar face. She only realized he was whispering her name to get her attention the fifth time around. "What?"

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Well…" she couldn't take her mind and eyes off of the young man who was waiting patiently along with some other pirates before they began to tense. They gestured for him to provide cover for them – the attack must have begun. Seeing her chance, Caeda jumped for forward towards the young man with Marth barely registering she did so before rushing after her. "Castor!" She said somewhat breathlessly. The youth jumped at the voice, "what are you doing?!"

"L-lady Caeda?!" The one named Castor stammered, "W-well, y-you see," his nervousness was made very apparent.

"Yes?" Caeda asked, quite impatiently.

"M-my mother has gotten gravely ill, so I left Talys in order to make money… this was the best way."

"Come now, this can't possibly be worth it!" Before the youth could defend his reasoning, he was surprised when a bag of gold was thrown into his hands, "there, is that enough? Go home, stay away from these thieves and cutthroats!"

"Wait, but, why-"

"It's my own money purse, I'd rather give you that then see you depreciate your character by aligning yourself with evil men like this!"

"Castor! What's the hold up? Where's the cover-" the pirate that came back to chastise Castor in a panic panicked even more when he saw the two intruders. "M-more?!" He said before raising his axe and starting quickly towards Caeda who drew her own sword – an arrow to his neck, though, made him fall to the ground with surprised eyes.

"Castor…?" It was him who shot the arrow.

"I'm sorry, Lady Caeda… I just… I really needed the money. My mother is dying! You gave me money, from your own money purse no less…" he looked at the bag he threw on the floor moments ago to use his bow. "I will fight for you! This kindness… I've never known such with these men."

"Thank you, Castor."

"Hello," Marth interjected, "I'm Marth. Pleased to have you with us." He beamed a compassionate smile and put out his hand.

"Thank you! I'll try to make up for the deeds of the past."

"It's fine! We all have pasts. Let the battles to come be what defines you." He preferred not to think more fighting was coming, but he wasn't so naïve as to assume more battles wouldn't come. "Now… I think they need our –" Marth had rushed out through the alleyway quickly with his sword drawn to find all the pirates either incapacitated or worse.

"Ah, Lord Marth, there you are." Jagen addressed the bewildered Marth casually, "they underestimated us – big mistake on their part."

* * *

"Have you seen the new prisoner we have?" A bandit asked the other one patrolling along with him.

"Yeah, cleric girl I hear. Mighty pretty by the sound of it."

"Crimson hair as bright as fire; she's definitely a looker."

"What exactly are we going to do with her?"

" I don't know, the boss has mostly been focused on keeping a tight watch on Navarre these days. The man has skill with the sword, terrifyingly so, but he fears he may just turn to a higher bidder or think he's not payed enough…"

"Even he's scared of him, huh?"

"Of course, he may be called the scarlet sword by some, but have you heard of another nickname that's swam around some parts?" The other beckoned him to go on, "the god of death." They both shuddered at the thought.

The two walked on continuing the conversation, unkowningly walking by a soon to be defector who had plans for an escape.

 **Hello all! I know I'm a tad late with this chapter... procrastination is a problem I'm not proud of. This chapter is a tad quick... unlike a couple chapters ago where I tried to be more descriptive with the action, this was used for more minor character development (though not much) and foreshadowing. I guess it kind of echoes the chapter in the actual game in a way, but we realize the first destination Marth and his small army need to head next.**

 **As always, thank you for any reviews and such!**

 **God bless.**


	7. Chapter 7: Closer to War

"This way, Lena," The thief called quietly to the woman following him in the night. The red haired cleric quietly complied – she wasn't sure why he was helping her escape captivity, but he seemed sincere. She thought on how he approached her cell, unlocked it, and told her they were going to be escaping into the Altean amry's protection.

"You know where you're going, right, Julian?"

"Of course, I'm sure I can probably take any of the soothsires we run into, but I'd prefer not to fight anyone."

"You still haven't told me why you rescued me." Lena asked to which Julian went silent – unseen by her was his very red face.

"Shh! Get down!" He said quickly as the two descended into the bushes. The two bandits that walked by weren't on high alert, so it was safe to say Lena's escape wasn't found out, yet.

"Ah!" A small peep from Lena made Julian turn his head in question. "I forgot my mend staff back in my cell."

"Sorry, but we can't go back for it! It's too dangerous! The Altean army will be here by morning probably, so we can't afford to dilly-dally."

"I could warp you with my warp staff to safety." She offered.

"Unless you can get both of us out of here, I'm just gonna' thumbs down that if you don't mind. I didn't spring you for nothing, that's for sure." Lena remaind silent as they slowly crept farther and farther from the stronghold. It wasn't long after that the whole place was sent into high alert because of the escaped prisoner.

* * *

The army slowly approached an inpass, one that led to the Samsooth Mountains, and thus to Aurelis, and another path that led somewhere else. "I hate to say it, but we're going to have to be on guard at all times," Darros lead them in further, "I promised to get you around the Soothsires, but they prowl the place night and day, so, while I can take you on the path that'll take us as far as possible… there's still the potential for danger."

"I think we all understand, Darros, thank you for your guidance thus far." Marth spoke with a pleasant smile, "I think we've amassed quite a group already that can handle ourselves if need be… especially if that display from that last battle was any indication…"

"If it'll help, I could fly up and get a good look." Caeda found herself constantly by Marth's side, intending to keep her promise to him.

He thought on the question for a second before shaking his head, "no, I'd prefer you down here and safe, they may have archers, not to mention, we don't want to be seen. Not that I think you'll be seen," he added quickly, "but there's always the potential that you could…" he brushed the top of his head embarrassingly, ashamed he might have offended her.

"Oh, I understand." Caeda wasn't fazed in the slightest.

"I believe that's wise, milord." Malledus came up to them, "I say, you're becoming more and more like a leader each day." Marth looked down, as if processing the compliment – unsure if it was just flattery.

"I agree with Malledus as well. I'm sure the others do too." Frey also joined in.

"Well…" Marth paused, "I'd say I've still a lot to learn."

"Is your guys' equipment ready?" Draug asked both Norne and Gordin.

"Yeah! My bow has a new string ready incase any bandits get any funny ideas."

"Same here." Norne followed up Gordin's line.

"Hold on…" Draug looked Gordin up and down. "I don't remember you having those green gloves…"

"Oh, yeah, I bought these in Galder! They're archery gloves, and, since they're my favorite color, I thought they were perfect for me!"

Draug gave a friendly thumbs up, "agreed!"

"Ow!" They both looked to see Norne struggling with her bow, "darned string came undone and nicked my finger." Draug came over to see that the tight string had hit her finger just right to cause bleeding.

"Should I get a healer?" Draug said quickly, visibly worried. "Will you even be able to fight if need be with that injury?"

Norne put up her hand swiftly to silence him, "this is nothing, happens all the time, you get used to it. 'Sides, I know a few tricks to stop the blood from gushing. Draug sighed in relief. "Why're you so worried? Think I can't handle myself?" She gave a playful smile to show she was joking.

"I just don't want to see you hurt is all." Draug had always been the type to worry over people more than was neccesary – it's what drove him to become a knight – his desire to protect.

"Are the rest of us chopped liver?" Cain teased with a smile while tending to his own weapons, "I'm ready as well, by the way."

"I wouldn't expect any less from you. You may be reckless, but you're good enough to always be ready." Draug answered.

"My! A compliment from Draug!? My heart just might burst with joy!"

"Please, don't. You might make a mess." Abel said from behind a slightly amused face while he tended to his own horse.

"I'm sure they'd make you clean it up! As reliable as you are!" Cain wasn't bothered by Abel's comment in the slightest – mostly out of the fact it was a common occurrence. Abel wasn't much of a comedian, but he did like to get a humorous word in edgewise – specifically when Cain was involved.

"Cain, you're being rather loud, I take it you're ready?" Jagen came up to them all with a stern face.

"Yes! We're all ready whenever the prince is!" The others nodded aside from Abel, who was focused on saddling his horse.

"We are as well." Ogma spoke for the Talysian mercenaries along with himself. "Wouldn't do good to let any bandits catch me off guard… besides… I heard some things about a certain new recruit these bandits have… if we do have an encounter… he's mine." He wore a serious expression that put everyone else on edge that was broken by Bord and Cord's mirrored exclamation of readiness as well.

"I'm also ready." Barst said with a confident smile, "I've got a straightforward goal for now that I can share with Ogma as well as my two brothers."

"Wait! I thought they said-" Norne spoke up.

"Their rivalry is pretty deep – deep enough that they pretend not to be related… they include me in that exclusion as well…" he thought on how odd that fact was.

"Ogma…" the mercenary looked over to see Caeda calling him.

"What is it, princess?"

"Well… I need to make a request. For you specifically."

"… I'm all ears." He answered calmly and gestured for her to go on.

"I know your duties lie with me, but… protect Marth." He was taken aback by this plea, "I mean it. He has lost so much, and I want to help him as best I can… so I'm giving him your protection. You can still protect me if you want… but he should take precedent."

Ogma thought it over for a long time, "Princess Caeda… your heart really is pure, huh…?" She blushed but told him that it was a command from her and that he must do it, at which he agreed. "I'm still going to protect you just as much, though. I owe you my life, after all." The statement made her recall the time she stood between him and a savage whipping that could've cost him his life years ago.

"Trust me… this is helping me more than you may know…"

"Prince Marth, everyone is ready, and in seemingly high spirits." Jagen came up beside the young man that was staring forward into the pass.

"Alright, then, I think it's time we move. The more time we waste here, the more danger Aurelis and princess Nyna is in in Aurelis."

"Ah, so you did indeed find out she was there?" Jagen was impressed.

"Yes, I went back to the bartender who I spoke with originally and he told me, after a little pushing, that she was indeed in the last territory that has yet to be taken by Dohlr… it's crumbling fast, though."

"Right, I'll have Frey get everyone in position to get moving, will you hop atop my horse?"

"Yes, if that's alright, Jagen." Marth answered, to which the old knight bowed his head in a gesture that said it would be his pleasure.

* * *

"Come on, Lena! We've gotta move!" The two Red haired figures we're fleeing from a wave of bandits on their tails. "I can't believe we got caught after I tried so hard to be quiet! Stupid sneeze!" Julian had sneezed lightly – just enough for one of the guards to notice, at which he and Lena were forced to make a break for it.

"That's far enough." The two found the owner of the voice had somehow found his way in front of them, and they were terrified at who it was. Navarre, the Scarlet Sword. His long brown hair fluttered in the wind as he stared coldly forward towards Julian and Lena, "will you surrender?" The rest of the bandits slowed to a stop – visibly intimidated by their apparent ally.

"Oh, for the love of –" Julian pulled out the sword he had at his side – he may not be amazing with it, but he could hold his own. Silently, Navarre pulled out one of the two blades he wore at his side – it was an oddly curved sword. Without waiting to see if he'd draw the other one, Julian ran forward and swung at him, only to have it easily defended against. Navarre's cold stare exuded no emotion, and only helped to worry the thief more. After a couple more desperate slashes that were blocked with equal precision, a kick to the groin from the defender caused Julian to collapse, "that… smarts…"

"Julian!" Lena ran over to the man that was lying on the ground in pain.

"S-sorry I couldn't get you out of here…" she hesitated a moment before she pulled out her warp staff in a desperate attempt to get the man that saved her to safety.

"Stop her!" One of the bandits realized what she was doing.

"What are y-" before he could finish the question, he was whisked away farther down the teeth. Navarre, who had turned his back on them and walked away, was a little surprised by this display when he turned back around but only for a split second, whereafter he showed little concern.

"Why you little." One bandit socked her in the face in anger," I hope you get a good punishment for helping that traitor escape!"

Another was angry as well, and almost got another glancing blow in on the reeling girl before Navarre interviened, "That's enough, I'll take her to Hyman." He said while forcefully taking Lena by the arm and leading her away.

* * *

The group of warriors were making their way solemnly through the mountains when they happened upon a clearing and took a break there. "Alright, this means we're about half way there," said Darros, "as long as we keep on this route we should be able to avoid the bandits." Marth nodded silently, something clearly was on his mind that he didn't wish to reveal.

"Is something wrong milord?" It was Abel who came up beside him, "you've been rather quiet and broodish… something on your mind?"

"Ah, Abel… no, no… it's nothing important." Abel didn't believe him but held his tongue because he new better.

"Well – I'd just like to tell you that, no matter your decision, as long as you heart is in the right place, any task is doable for us all."

Marth looked at his kind smile for a while before he began to say something, "well, in truth-" he stopped when his eyes caught something, "wait… what's that?" He pointed, to which Abel whirled around and saw what he pointed at. It was the body of a man lying on the ground. "You don't think…?"

Abel quietly strut over to the body slowly – hand on his sword in case it was a trap of some kind. The man had red hair and looked a bit worse for wear. Kneeling down, he felt his pulses, "he's alive."

"What happened?" Jagen asked a little later.

"Am I to heal him?" Wrys butted in.

"No, no, he's fine. He's only unconscious, I'm not sure why, though. What should we do with him?" Abel directed the question more at Jagen than Marth.

"I say to leave him, he might be a bandit."

"Wait he's waking up."

"H-huh…?" He snapped his eyes open, "w-who are you all?"

"We're… the Altean army." Marth stepped forward and assigned the group a name, to which the others looked at him in surprise.

"T-then!" A look of hope dawned on his eyes, "please! I need you to help me fight off these bandits! They've taken a prisoner, a cleric named Lena, and she's…"

"She's…?" Cain asked impatiently.

"Dear to you?" Caeda finished for him.

"Er… yes."

"I'm not sure if we should involve ourselves…" Jagen said aloud, but he looked to Marth to see what he thought.

 **Hello all! I feel like this one took a lot longer to finish! Sorry for the wait! I know people think that waiting = quality, but I'd hate to keep people waiting, especially when I'm not exactly supremely talented in the art of storytelling. I hope I'm doing a good job, but I still feel I've got a lot to learn... a lot like Marth, huh?**

 **Well, anyways, I'm glad I finally got this chapter out. This and the last chapter, I feel, have been a bit weaker but I've tried to use them to further the characters a bit - it definitely won't stop there, though.**

 **A certain reason this took so long is that I've kinda been toying with the thought of doing a Heroes story of some kind. Maybe try to go more in-depth with Askr and Embla (from my perspective of course), and maybe draw a few tie-ins here and there between these two stories ;). As of right now I haven't started it, but I think I've thought of ways to make Alfonse and Sharena a bit more interesting, as well as the two aforementioned kingdoms.**

 **That's all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and are anticipating the next! God bless!**


	8. Chapter 8: The Scarlet Sword

The young woman looked at the man who currently had her in custody; while he looked like a terrifying man, his clasp on her wrist as they walked was firm but not painful – almost bordering on gentle. "Who are… you?" She asked.

"Just a sellsword." Navarre answered bluntly in response.

"Where are you-"

"To Hyman."

"Why-"

He stopped and Lena followed suit, "you know why." He gave a stern answer and looked back at her with annoyance. "Are you really so terrified you must ask questions with obvious answers?"

"I'm just curious… you don't seem like the kind of man to do lackey work." The man thought on this a moment while he restarted their pace towards headquarters.

"You'd be wrong."

* * *

"Milord… I'm seriously not liking you continuously putting faith in random men wherever we go…" Cain voiced his concern aloud.

"Oh, come now, Cain, trust goes a long way in earning friendship! Besides, what would Julian gain from lying to us? His story is believable enough, especially with those wounds."

"Put some faith in Lord Marth" Abel came up behind him.

"That's not what I'm worried about and you know it."

"I actually agree with Cain," Ogma hopped in, "with Marth giving his trust every-which-way, he's bound to be betrayed sooner or later."

"You all know I can hear you, right?" They all looked forward to see Julian with a less- than-pleased face because of their gossip, "I've no intention of making an enemy of any of you."

"But you're a th-!" Cain was abruptly cut off by Abel, who pulled him aside to shut him up.

"Yeah, this is definitely the place where the Soothsires are." Julian nodded in affirmation at Darros' conclusion.

"You can attest to the fact there are no archers?" Marth asked Julian, who nodded.

"Yep, I swear, none of those meat-heads even knows how to cock a bow… or whatever."

"Since we're going to be fighting anyway, would you say it wise to scout now?" Caeda asked, to which Marth said that was the plan. With that, she took off.

Caeda's scouting yielded results – one of which was the bandits tendency to not look up, as she wasn't seen and she says she wasn't trying very hard not to be – and so the group prepared an attack. One way lead to the fort where the leader of the Soothsires, Hyman, stayed, while the other was where further bandits stayed.

* * *

"I've brought her, Hyman." The large man turned as the red swordsman entered.

"Ah… Navarre… good work." His slight discomfort wasn't hid very well. "I've caught word of intruders down the mountain. Kill 'em." Navarre simply nodded and gave Lena a pitying look before exiting. "So…" as soon as he left. "You escaped… how did you escape exactly?" She wasn't too keen on answering. "Was it indeed that wretched coward Julian?" Once again, no answer. He suddenly jumped up from his chair, "he may have been a coward, but he was pretty talented at lockpicking, you see? It's a pain to find men good in that field for free. Did you seduce him or something? A little uncharacteristic of a woman of the cloth."

"I did no such thing!" She was quick to defend herself, "maybe he just has more heart than the rest of you barbarians!"

"And so she speaks." He gives her a cold stare. "I'm not like some other bandit leaders, who'd threaten you after raising your voice like that. I honestly don't care. However, I'm very upset I lost a talented member of the team… and so, I'm inclined to make you pay for it." Her face cringed into a horrified expression. "Unfortunately, I mostly just brought you here to chew you out, as I need to deal with the intruders along with my men – gotta make sure they know who's in charge." With that, he grabbed her and easily, despite her struggling, threw her into a small room and locked it. "I'll be back after their blood is spilled."

* * *

The bandits had come upon them from behind without warning. While they had engaged the ones who patrolled down one pass, the way to the fort that Hyman called home brought forth bandits, surrounding the group. Draug desperately tried to fell the opponents in front of him while making sure any of their frailer allies were unharmed. Wrys, Norne, and Gordin provided ranged backup while the rest formed a circle around them. Each slice and thrust toward each enemy would whittle down their numbers, yes, but with such insourmountable numbers, victory seemed far away. Julian was doing fairly well with combat too, though he was quite weak, his quickness made up for it and most of the enemies' axes never graced him. He also, being a thief, pillaged the purse of any downed soothsire as well.

"*urgh* will you all just give up already?!" Cain said though jagged breaths, clearly annoyed at the display.

"Hold on, Cain, I'll heal you really quickly." Wrys came from behind him and, with his staff, caused the small wound he received in his arm to recess, as if it had never been.

"Thanks!" He gave a grin before he blocked another axe with his sword and plunged the blade into his chest.

"Ogma! Duck!" Norne called to the mercenary, who did as instructed and the foe behind him was downed right before trying to cut him from the other side. Giving a simple grunt of gratitude, he went back to fighting. The three Talysian mercenary brothers fought ferociously alongside him as well, each one wielded their axe expertly.

"Jagen! Malledus! I don't suppose you see a leader, do you?" Marth asked through parries.

"I see someone coming from the fort! Could it be?" Malledus called and pointed. Drawing closer was the silhouette of a skinny man. The closer he got, the more discernible was his red outfitting. "It might be!" As if on cue, the attacks ceased. Before them stood the lone myrmidon – someone skilled in the blade. At his side was two curved swords which undoubtedly spilled many a man's blood.

"Who…?" Marth asked in slight bewilderment at the end of the onslaught. "Are you the leader here?"

"No." He simply answered. "I'm just a sellsword who's come to take your life, Prince Marth." Marth looked shocked at the fact he knew who he was. "Are you prepared to die by my blade?" The man's eyes betrayed only the intent to kill – like a wolf on the hunt.

"Me first." Ogma came up with sword drawn, "I will be your opponent, not the prince." Navarre wasn't surprised in the slightest, or at least didn't show it. The two prepared their blades for combat before almost instantaneously clashing. The scarlet sword only wielded one of his two blades – perhaps he didn't believe Ogma was worthy? This hubris wasn't lost on Ogma, who'd MAKE him take this duel seriously. His eyes spoke of deeper meaning to this fight that the rest didn't catch. "Ha!" Their blades met swiftly in a brief clash, and separated just as quickly. It was followed by a plethora of more swift counters to one another, but neither one gained a foot hold over the other – it was a standstill. A look of understanding came upon Ogma, "ah, so it IS true. You're the god of death, Navarre."

The scarlet sword looked at his opponent with a hardened gaze, "no one has called me that in awhile… who are you?"

"Same as you. Just a sellsword." The two shared a competitive smirk – Navarre's caught everyone else off guard. The pleasantries ended with more clashes of their swords. The spectacle was breathtaking, with neither side's troops moving a muscle, not wanting to miss a moment. While the two seemed evenly matched, it was quite obvious that Navarre's more slender frame would crack if he took a glancing blow, Ogma's history of being a gladiator and what it entails, on the other hand, had hardened him to not be as fragile – and this fact lead him to think he might just win this until Navarre suddenly backed up and drew his other blade. Sweat started to drip down as he realized he might have just ran out of time to finish him. Neither had landed a blow on the other, true, but Navarre had gotten dangerously close a couple of times – it was obvious his peerless skill with the sword was still quite unrivaled, even more so with his two blades. He charged forward in a crimson blur, sword swipes everywhere with a desperate Ogma trying to block as much as possible. In this effort, the gruff mercenary was left battered, bloody, and bruised, with the scarlet swordsman standing slightly away from him. Ogma had at least protected spots that could've proved to be fatal wounds if he'd been struck there, but the figure with the twin swords walking up to him ready for the kill rendered the effort frivolous.

"It's really a shame I have to kill you…" Navarre looked sincere, "you have some potential." He edged ever closer before being surprised by the figure of a woman in front of him.

"Stop!" It was Caeda who was holding back tears at seeing her trusted body guard, whom she'd thought to have been almost invincible, sitting there soaked in his own blood.

"Caeda-!" Marth and Ogma voiced the same line.

"If you want to kill him… then you'll have to finish me first!" She bit her lip as if she had a plan in mind.

The swordsman looked on in thought, "you'd give up your life for this man…?" He asked the question carefully.

"Yes!"

"Come on, Navarre, it should't be so hard to kill one wench and one dead man," Hyman had caught up halfway through the battle and watched in amazement with the rest of his men.

Navarre sheathed one of his blades and put out his hand towards Caeda, "look at this hand, or the other."

"W-wha-?"

"Look!" She complied after he rose his voice. "These hands are stained with death. Countless lives – cut short by them, that wield these two twin swords gifted to me by a person I'm searching for. What's another murder when you've already committed so many?" She didn't answer, but gave a confused and slightly worried look. "Do you truly say you would sacrifice your life for this man, whether pointless or not?" She gave a short nod and Navarre's hand lowered and drew the other sword he'd sheathed.

"Alright, cut off their heads!" Hyman had come behind the swordsman, and was waiting eagerly to see the deed done.

"My lady Caeda…" Ogma looked up at his princess, overcome with sadness at what seemed to be their final moments. He was about to apologize for not keeping his promise when Navarre said something strange.

"Well, I suppose you're in luck. Aside from your interesting sellsword here, and the boy," he looked at Marth for a brief second. "You were willing to give your life – and I make an effort to not harm women and children – consider yourself the high bidder." The meaning of his words was lost on all until Navarre raised his sword to waist height, artfully spun it around in his hand, and plunged the sword into Hyman's gut, taking the bandit leader by complete surpise he didn't have even say a word to express his contempt at the betrayal. The other bandits looked on in horror at what transpired and quickly all ran away screaming in terror as none of them hoped to beat him and his swords – either together, or one on one.

* * *

"Lena!" The army had come to the fort that held Lena captive and Julian had ran in to save her.

"Julian?! What are you doing here?" She was shocked beyond belief.

"I've come to save you – again!" He added the last part, "when you warped me, the rest of the Altean army was actually right around the corner and they helped! We cleared out the soothsires, even!" This news brought her much relief. "Now come on, you've gotta meet the others!"

The scene outside comprised mostly of the army talking amongst themselves, with Marth speaking to the scarlet sword, "Might I ask why you helped us?" He asked Navarre.

"Didn't I say? That woman – Caeda – expressed the willingness to give up her life. Not to mention, I find this journey you're going on to be rather… beneficial to my agenda."

"Would it pain you to tell me what that agenda is?"

He thought on it for a moment before saying, "yes. However, trust me, unlike the soothsires, I won't betray you."

"If they were cutthroats who'd probably kill women and children, why'd you join up with them."

"Money, mostly. Also, you're not going to be running into women and children very often if at all in a mountain range, so I thought it'd be some decent work for a decent pay for once." Marth nodded his head and was about to ask another question when he noticed Navarre walking away with a hand raised, "sorry, I'm not much for talking, but just know you have my sword." The blue haired prince stared back at him and thought. "Already this army is turning out to be quite peculiar… so many new faces. Everyone has a past, and all are so much stronger than I – not just in actual strength, but of the mind, too. It truly makes me wonder… am I fit to lead all of these talented men and women? It doesn't feel right." He closed his eyes and furrowed his brow.

"Is something wrong, milord? You look like you're dealing with some unpleasant thoughts." He looked up at the unfamiliar voice and found a rather beautiful red haired woman in front of him accompanied by Julian.

"Oh, please don't worry," he cleaned up his act quickly," are you Lena?"

"Yes. I'm a cleric and noblewoman of Macedon. Pleased to meet you Prince Marth." She bowed politely.

"Hm?" He latched on to what she said, "a noblewoman… of Macedon?!" Marth looked completely shocked.

"Please calm down!" She cut through his panick swiftly,"I bare no ill will towards you, whether you oppose Dohlr, Macedon, or Grust."

"But… wouldn't you loathe us for opposing your home country?"

She shook her head, "as a cleric, I know when evil is being done, and they work with Dohlr. Besides, I'm a rather good judge of character, I see you're worthy to see this quest through."

Marth was taken off guard for a moment,"thank you… in truth, I really needed to hear those words, but… what gives off such a positive impression, though?"

"Your kindness. Simple as that." After the exchange, they parted ways, leaving Marth looking over at the sunset, thinking about the words that had been said. "Is that true though…?

 **Yes, I know, this chapter took a very long time to get out, but at least it's finished now, right? Sorry about that wait, guys, but... procrastination is a powerful and deadly force. 😅 Although, my senior year of high school also just started as well, so I guess that's also an excuse. A little while ago I'd gotten Fate/Extra and played it for the first time (it's pretty good), and then I just got Destiny 2, so that's been equally distracting, so I apologize.**

 **as always, any reviews, ratings, follows, etc. are appreciated! God bless!**


	9. Chapter 9: Aurelis at Last

It was a dark and stormy night on which the battle took place. "Ogma! How do you think this battle will end?" A faceless soldier approached the man.

"Well, there armies are crumbling before us, but I wouldn't be too reckless." The man gave a thumbs up before running ahead. A rustle in the bushes caught the eye of the much younger Ogma – a stray enemy emerged.

"Come to test your luck, I see." He raised his sword and prepared to deflect the enemy's sword slash. In one clean motion, the man's neck bled while he fell to the rocky ground. Ogma kept his sword raised for several minutes, scanning the area before he could be certain it was safe. As safe as it was on a battlefield with countless dead. A scream from the front caught his attention and he booked it there. "What's going on?!" He asked to the one in charge. The man was a statue of fear. Only pointing forward at a lone man dressed in red surrounded by countless bodies – the bodies of the men he'd been fighting with. He watched as more were downed effortlessly, adding to the sea of corpses. At last, only they remained. The young man in red stood before him with one blood soaked blade.

"Do you come forth? Or will you stay back?" Ogma contemplated living to fight another day but decided against it. He was an expert with the sword, he shouldn't have too much trouble. The man in red's face didn't change, but he prepared to strike, waiting for Ogma to get situated. In a blur the man charged at him and the two swords met with a loud clang, followed by several more. It became more and more apparent that this young man was on a completely different level.

This man was to be feared.

This man was not just known as the scarlet sword but…

The God of Death.

It was a nightmare that Ogma had constantly, and with the reemergence of that man… it had started up again.

* * *

"So, tell me, sister Lena, how exactly did you end up here?" Marth had asked to speak with the cleric during their march to see if she had any new information.

"Well… I honestly forget how long it's been, but I guess you could say I'm on a pilgrimage." Marth nodded in understanding, "my grandfather and I used to travel around Grust to help the less fortunate, and while he's now too old to do it, I do it alone in his stead."

"Truly?" She nodded. "Has it ever gotten dangerous for you like this before?"

"In truth, this is the first time I was out of Grust or Macedon while traveling, and it has been awhile, so, no, I suppose this is the first time something like this has happened." She looked down in pained rememberance.

"Well, don't worry, I promise that we'll keep you safe."

"Thank you, milord. I promise to do my part with healing as well."

Marth nodded in thanks before turning to the red headed thief who strutted on next to her, "and what's your role in all this, Julian?"

He was caught off-guard by the addressage, but collected himself quickly, "I got sick of those idiots so I sprung Lena and looked for safety in your company."

"O-oh? T-that's it?" A quick nod from Julian showed that he might not want to talk about this subject.

"pardon the interruption, sire, but there's a village ahead," it was Abel," would you like to visit it to gather some more supplies and maybe to rest a little?"

"Yes, that sounds great Abel, good idea!" With haste, Abel told everyone the news and they all headed off to the town in the distance, each sharing in conversation with someone else, except for one enigmatic red swordsman.

* * *

"So… at last, we're in Aurelis." Caeda had come up to Marth while the army spread itself about in their own directions.

"Indeed," the prince flashed a hopeful smile, "princess Nyna should be but a stone's throw away at this point…" His face hardened for a second.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"In truth, when we had hit the Mainland, something Malledus said upon our escape from Altea castle came to mind. He specified that I was the last of the Altean bloodline – as if I was our last hope… it made me think of the old tales of Anri the great."

"Anri the great… 'and in the darkest night of Archanea, a single youth held the blade of Naga and the shield of seals, and banished Medeus to destruction.' A tale that everyone is taught. Of heroism, bravery…" Caeda trailed off.

"Yes, the very same. The young men of the Altean bloodline are raised with this legend in mind – or at least that's what my father told me. That's why he was so adamant about me learning swordsmanship – in case I ever had to use Falchion, I could with skill… but the Blade is lost to us, it's whereabouts unknown…"

"Perhaps princess Nyna has an idea of where it might be?" Marth nodded at the idea.

"Prince Marth," Jagen came up to the two quietly, as not to disturb the peace of the streets, "I bring unfrotunate news."

"Don't tell me there are pirates of some kind terrorizing these people. Our soldiers have been fighting battle after battle, they could use some rest."

"I apologize, but, no, sire, these aren't pirates. It's a small battalion of Macedonian destriers. These aren't simple brigands, these are trained soldiers." The sinking feeling was mutual between the both of them.

* * *

"I feel bad for constantly using you in this same fashion." Marth chided himself.

"No, please, I don't mind in the slightest." Caeda was, once again, asked to get a good view of their enemies, "as expected, there is an obscene amount of Macedonian cavaliers coming this way. There's also another village farther down that could get caught in the crossfire."

Marth thought on this a moment before Malledus came up behind him, "milord, I suggest warning that village with haste, first. It might be possible we could even use it to ambush them."

"I agree." Jagen also voiced his opinion.

"Then I suppose our choice is clear. Tell all the soldiers to move out, send half of our forces down to the houses to the south, the rest of us will go to the village."

"Excuse me sir," Draug was being as polite as possible to the house owner," the Macedonian army is coming this way, do you have a place to hide out?" The homeowner nodded his head in panic and thanks before shutting the door – going to his basement.

"You people! Always waging your wars! Why is there always someone rebelling? Ugh!" Norne wasn't having quite as easy a time, but Norne was revving up for her own verbal attack.

"You'd prefer to live in fear?! Rebellions aren't fighting because we like war, you idiot! We're doing it for all of us, including you!" She poked him squarely in the chest to emphasize her point.

"Mindless fighting isn't going to create peace!"

"Neither will complaining and whining like you are, now! At least we're doing something about it! Get out of my sight!" The man closed the door angrily.

"Err… that didn't go well…" Draug came up behind her.

"Like I care, he's a spineless chicken. Men like him are such cowards. They should take advice from you, Draug, you're always protecting people – pretty sure that's how you'd want a knight to be."

"Oh! W-well, you all make my job so easy by being skilled at combat – there aren't any other people in Archanea I'd rather fight beside!"

"Including me?"

"Of course! You're so skilled with both that bow of yours and that knife!"

She was blushing at the compliment, "that's kind of you to say! Glad I'm not a burden!"

"Stop right there!" It was Frey, chasing after a very obvious thief. Norne prepped her bow and aimed at the man's head before Frey called to wound him instead. An arrow to the knee stopped his running. "Alright, rouge, tell me who you're working for." Frey began questioning the man who went into an unintelligible babble before a kick from Norne calmed him down.

"I work for a group of mercenaries hired by the army up past the Lake!" He spoke in complete fear. "We were asked to assault the army coming to that next village!"

"What are you doing here then?" The thief nervously lifted up a very full gold pouch, to which Frey shook his head in exasperation before throwing the man down and calling the other soldiers to the village. Everyone began running but Norne, who looked at the man lying on the floor squarely before quickly swiping the pouch saying it was going to a good cause and flashing a micheivious smile.

* * *

"Another ghost town?" Cain said in an almost annoyed way, "I'm starting to think that all of Archanea is haunted at this point."

"It is distressing until you see that all of the houses are closed off – almost like people are already hiding…" Able conjectured, "milord, do you think they already know of the army coming? Perhaps they have a lookout."

"You might be right, Able, I suppose this-" an intense cry of pain was heard by the alley way as a man walked out in rags and fell to the ground, "sir, are you okay!?" Marth ran to the man quickly and almost tried to help him before Navarre of all people stopped him.

"Prince Marth, do you not see the knife he's holding under his stomach?" Marth looked back and the man, who was lying on his stomach, did look rather suspicious, however before he could retreat from him, the man jumped before Marth could prep his sword but the brigand fell anyway. Navarre had slashed his stomach in two. "It seems that the people are hiding because of them…" the group was slowly surrounded.

" half of our army is in the opposite direction… what are we to do against such odds?" It was Gordin who voiced everyone's worry. The enemy party charged the group mercilessly, and while the half of the army was doing fine, a powerful looking man, perhaps the leader, readied his blade and charged Marth directly while the rest were distracted. The man threw strike after strike at his sword until Marth was on the ground dragging himself back as if trying to escape. His sword was raised one last time, ready for the kill.

"EXCALIBUR!" The man stopped and dropped his sword as his body seemed to almost be split in two as he fell to the ground. Behind him was a lightly armored green-haired man who had the look of a mage. In one hand was a tome, the other was pushed outward – this young man had just saved Marth's life, and when he realized who he was, Marth's joy almost took over himself despite being in the middle of a battlefield.

* * *

 **Yes, this is a shorter chapter, and yes, it has been a month since the last. I'm terribly sorry to anyone who thought the wait was miserable; I wish I could say I was busy with senior year starting or a lot of other projects, but... it's mostly just procrastination. I feel like my last couple chapters have been really weak, and so I spent a long time trying to change this one up then just "going through the motions" and along that path... I became disillusioned and started to procrastinate - again, I'm terribly sorry, and I'd hate to cause anyone to wait so long again, but I can't say a similar thing won't happen again.**

 **Becuase of this, I'm trying to fill my instagram, sigma_xvii , with more short stories and stuff, so if you have an Instagram, and want to see more of my writing (fire Emblem related or not) look there. There's not a lot there yet, as I've only just started doing it, but I'm trying, though it's also my personal, so it's not ONLY Fire Emblem.**

 **In terms of me, I have been getting busier with school and so have gotten a great deal lazier because of it, but at least I've finally got a way to play Path of Radiance now, so that's cool, right?**

 **I hope you all have a blessed day/night and I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even if it is one of my shorter ones.**


	10. Chapter 10: Unity and Progress

When the mid-day fog had cleared, the enemy force of mercenaries had lost. Blood was spread everywhere, and Marth's Army was all panting heavily and sheathing their weapons. The mysterious green-haired man walked up to Marth with a eyes that spoke of gratefulness, and Marth met the gaze with one of his own – of sudden hope. Quickly, the royal embraced him without warning, "Merric! Thank Naga you're safe!" Tears were rolling down his eyes.

"Yes… and thank Naga you're alive, Prince Marth!"

Marth broke the hug, but kept his hand on his shoulder, "but what are you doing here? I thought you were still in training under master Wendell."

"I was, but I was adamant toward my teacher to let me help you after I heard there was a chance you were still alive. There's no way I would leave my best friend alone in a world desiring his head! I'm sure seeing my skills in action was enough to show that I'm skilled enough as it is."

Marth recalled the powerful wind blade spell and the one that also called ice upon the battlefield – without Merric, they might not have survived. "Yes, I can assure you I noticed. You've progressed amazingly over the years. The last time I saw you was three years ago, and that's when you could barely cast fire magic!"

"Marth… could you tell me who this is?" It was Caeda, who looked quite happy to see Marth so joyful.

"Ah, Yes. This is Merric, a good friend of mine who visited me many a week before Altea was taken." He looked back at him, "does this mean that you wish to join us?"

"Of course!" With that he offered his hand to Caeda, "pleased to meet you, I'm a student of Bishop Wendell of Khadein."

"My name is Caeda – princess of Talys, and daughter to king Mostyn." This lead to more and more introductions being made to the rest of the army while they told the people who locked themselves up that it was safe. They were given some supplies and headed out to meet the Macedonian troops.

* * *

The small army had made it to the opposite side of the bridge when Marth's allies had prepared themselves for the coming conflict. In a flash, bowmen, mounted and unmounted, as well as several other soldiers came upon them. Castor exchanged arrows with one such horseman, having to jump behind a tree every now and again. Cain, Able, Frey, and Jagen countered each cavalier. Norne and Gordin did the usual routine of picking off whoever they could. Marth did his own share of fighting, though he struggled to land strikes on the lance wielding riders constantly trying to circle him. Ogma, Navarre, and the three axe wielders by him weren't having as hard a time, however. Caeda only came down from the sky for only brief moments to stay out of the range of the countless archers and horseman. Wrys and Lena were more focused on avoiding getting hurt as opposed to healing due to all the chaos. Draug blocked a lance thrust with his shield before delivering a strike back at him – however, the hit did little damage due to the enemy's equally heavy armor. "Draug, was it? Jump to the left!" It was Merric. The knight did as commanded, and a split second later, the foe had crumpled to the ground after a swift blade of wind cut through his armor like butter. He looked back at the young mage, giving a thumbs up.

"I forgot how scary magic can be…" gulping as he resumed with the rest of the soldiers. He saw that Merric was doing equally good work on the other enemies, but knew he needed to watch out for him since he was so lightly armored.

As if on cue, "You! Mage! Take this!" He rushed to hop in the way of the man's lance which was meant for Merric. He had the look of a noble or something – clad in black as he was with blond flowing hair. "Curse you, knight!" The strike sent him backwards slightly. The lance he wielded was odd looking – it was a ridersbane, a special lance tailor-made to deal with horsemounted opponents. The train of thought was cut off with countless arrows being fired at the man from Gordin and Norne. Once again, the daunting blade of wind was sent towards the knight and seemingly cut through him before he lied on the ground – dead.

After that, the battle went quickly, with some soldiers even standing down and fleeing – one such actually laid down his arms and gave himself up. "I give up. Please spare me." It was an odd sullen-looking man with red hair and a strange hair-cut.

"As long as you stand down, I promise to not –"

"Matthis, is that you?!" It was Lena who strutted up with an air of disbelief about her.

"You know him?"

"Yes! He's my brother! What are you doing, fighting for the Macedonian army when you know they aren't doing what's right?"

"L-Lena… I-I can explain. I was forced to enlist! I'm more worried what YOU'RE doing here."

"Prince Marth here saved me from bandits in the Samsooth Mountains." She gestured to the blue-haired youth beside her.

"I must thank you then, Prince Marth, for keeping my sister safe."

"Hmm? You aren't surprised to hear who I am?"

"Well… since Dohlr, and by extent Macedon, have been searching for you for two years now, I doubt there isn't a single soul at this point that DOESN'T know you're on the continent. The men I was with were here for that very purpose."

"Oh…" Marth looked at the ground. "Wait, how close are any other soldiers to our position?"

"Well…" he thought on it a moment, "I think we were the only ones tasked with attacking you, so I think the others are still mounting an offense against Aurelis castle."

"We need to get a move on, then. Matthis, will you join us?"

"Only because of my sister, since, with all due respect… I have a hard time trusting royalty…"

"Why is that?"

"Our own Prince Michalis… he's terrifying and has threatened me several times after Lena turned down his invitation to marriage." He looked at her with slight pain in his face.

Marth also looks at her with a shocked face, "You… could've become… royalty yourself, sister Lena…?"

"I suppose. That life isn't for me, though – I'd rather help people."

"The Prince isn't the first one to think as much, probably. My sister is rather fetching, don't you think?" Matthis had a mischievous smirk, which Lena saw bright as day and swatted him thusly.

"Ignore my brother," she said in her defense, "he gets a kick out of joking at my expense."

"Hmm? Who are you?" Julian had come up without any tact.

"I'm Lena's brother, Matthis."

"Oh…" Julian processed it for a second, looking between the two, "well, Matthis, I think that Lena is much too good for him." The statement caught everyone off-guard.

"Milord?" It was Malledus, "can I have a word with you?"

"Sure." To be honest, Marth welcomed the invitation to leave when Matthis started questioning Julian if he's tried to sneak into his sister's heart.

"I asked around, Aurelis castle has been taken."

"No… we're too late? The princess… is she…?"

"We're unsure as of now… however, Hardin, known as the Coyote, is running guerilla-esque tactics against the Macedon forces still."

"Hmm…" Marth pondered for a moment. "The least we could do is help – perhaps, if we join our might, we can be that much closer to ending this conflict."

"Right away, Milord."

* * *

As the army made their way towards the castle, they camped near the woods for a night, as the group needed the rest. It was Ogma's turn to be on watch.

"Hm?" Something moving caught his eye, and the streak of red came ever closer.

"Ogma, was it?" The blond man was visibly on edge, "ever since we got out of the ghoul's teeth, we've had Battle after battle, and I noticed something…"

"Oh? What's that?" Disdain was clear in his voice.

"Do you want to kill me?" Navarre looked down at him with grim, piercing eyes.

"…" Ogma looked up at the man before snearing, "perhaps. Do you remember a night, several years ago, on a battlefield?" Navarre's look persisted, but gave a slight nod. "You were there?" Another nod. "Were you slaughtering foes in spades like a one man army?"

"Get to the point."

"What are you doing here?" Navarre remained silent for a moment before turning around.

"I thought I already told you." The stared eachother down as Navarre made his way to his tent.

"Fad chance I'd believe it…"

* * *

"Hmm?" A spry, young red-haired girl perked her head up at the sound of the door opening.

"Hello Maria. How are you today?" The Man had an imposing stature, with the same shade of red hair – but his face was one of warmth.

"Well… I'm a little bored…" she turned her head to the window, "it'd be nice if I could see Minerva, since I haven't in awhile, but…" she looked back, "but now that you're here, Michalis, what would you like to talk about? Or do?" Maria was cheerful, despite her apparent boredom.

"Anything you'd like, I've a little time." He looked down at her with a smile, but in his heart he knew, this was the last time they'd see eachother.

* * *

 **Hello all! Like I said, expect long waits! To be honest, I've been rather busy with school and work now, so I was having a harder time writing. Due to this, and the fact that this chapter kinda feels... filler made it hard to rite about it. The next chapter should be longer and better!**

 **God Bless!**


	11. Chapter 11: The Liberation of Aurelis

"Princess Nyna." A stout man wearing a turban was kneeling in front of a pristine figure. A young woman with blonde hair who had a somber but noble look about them. He raised his head to look her in the eyes, "Wolf told me he sees them." The woman sat up, her expression suddenly showing hope, "he sees the Altean army!" He delivers with a confident smile.

"Then that means…" she stands up, relief overcoming her, "Marth has finally come! Oh, thank the gods."

"I ask you to stay here – I will bring Wolf, Sedgar, Roshea, and Vyland with me to join our might to his. Aurelis may have only just fallen to the Dohlr banner recently, but it's already been too long." The man stands up as well, "By my name, Hardin the Coyote, I will see this day won!" With that he leaves her in the hut she's hiding in, as the Coyote makes his way over to his men – exuding serious strength all the way.

* * *

"So, that's Aurelis castle?" Marth walked up behind Frey, who was searching the horizon.

"Yes, milord, And I can also see that we will have resistance from the very north as well… this will not be easy…"

"When you've been fighting as long as I have," Jagen approached, "you learn that no battle is easy. The soldiers are all resting but ready to head out when needed." He said as he turned to Marth.

"Alright, thank you, Jagen. I think I'll have everyone rest a might longer – it feels like we've been fighting nonstop at this point, and the enemy doesn't seem to see us, yet." The old knight walked away after bowing. "Why? I'm… shaking. This isn't the first front, and yet…" the youth looked down at his hand in question.

"We'll be resting till midday, so feel free to relax," Jagen relayed to the camp, which all happily obliged.

Abel, who was sitting cross-legged right next to a lazing Cain, was sharpening and cleaning his lance. The usual friend group of Gordin, Draug, and Norne was formed again. Caeda was holding back Matthis from smacking Julian for making fun of his hair-cut, with Lena speaking to Wrys about his own pilgrimages when he was younger. The younger cleric took quite an interest in the older man's stories. Castor was napping against a tree – aside from Caeda, he hadn't really bothered to form any bonds. Ogma usually enjoyed chatting with the learned Jagen, but today, he simply stared at the relaxing Navarre, who was meeting his gaze steadily. The myrmidon always had his sword on hand, and he particularly was prepared if Ogma were to go for an attack. Darros was chatting with Barst and his brothers, with the latter three interested in the places he's seen, being an ex-pirate. Darros was a little embarrassed but told of the one time he visited the continent to the west, since that was easily his favorite 'trip.' All-in-all, the group was quiet and kept to themselves, some were tense and ready to fight, though. "Ah, Lord Marth, are you well?" Merric saw Marth approached and noticed something off.

"Oh… yes, Merric… my nerves just seem to be getting to me." The young mage thought curiously, as he'd heard this was far from their first battle.

"Would it be… because of…" he thought with his hand making a circular motion while he thought.

"It's just that this battle feels so important. It almost feels like our first in a way." They walked back up to Frey, who was still scanning the horizon, "this is no mere skirmish. This feels like our first true battle."

"Well… don't forget, you aren't alone." The statement made the prince look up with a curious face. "You might shake, but I can tell all of us here are willing to share the burden. We fight because you're leading. You've always had a knack for befriending people." The last point was accompanied by a slight nudge.

"Still… I think maybe someone else should be in command. Maybe Har-"

"Sire? I think you'll want to see this." Frey grabbed his attention as he pointed out towards the castle.

"What is –" he stopped as he saw the enemy soldiers fortifying in the opposite direction of them. "What could possible be going on over there that would have them turn their back to us?"

"Nonetheless, perhaps we should prepare to charge ourselves. There's still that small group of enemies, but maybe we can catch the forces beyond the bridge by surprise."

"Yes, I think that's sound logic." With a nod from Marth, Frey went to rally the soldiers. "It begins…" he said quietly to Merric next to him.

* * *

"Bad news." A purple haired man called back to the figure drenched in white. "We've got their attention but there are way too many of them for us. Sedgar and I have downed some, but their knights are coming."

"Hmm… we need to think of a plan soon…"

"Sir," Vyland, a man with red hair, was a newer knight who showed promise. Following him was Roshea, an even younger man of purple hair, "we can take the long way around, but we risk them searching the huts." The turbaned man thought hard.

"Is Sedgar still firing?"

"Yeah. He's doing an able job taking out the weaker enemies, but…"

"I see no way around it." The three knights looked at him with questioning eyes. "We charge. They will feel the might of the Coyote and his wolves this day."

* * *

"Sir Jagen, I've come up with a plan." Abel, after studying the map and the enemy position, approached the prince and his retainer as they prepared to charge themselves.

"Go ahead, Abel." Marth answered for him.

"There are trees around the area toward the north, so my thought was to send a few that way while mainting cover. Everyone else could go towards the bridge."

"Hmm… that's not a bad idea."

"Hold on." Julian came up behind them, "you forgot to mention something. Those guys over there? They aren't a part of the army there. Bandits and others."

"Indeed. We won't be able to predict what they'll do, but it is true they are a threat to the village over there."

"I'm going to stick with your plan, Abel. Now let's prepare to charge. With your well rounded mind of tactics, I trust you have an idea on who to send?" A confirming nod was given, and he left to prepare.

The plan was set in motion, with Navarre, Merric, and Julian, heading north through the forest. "The rest of us will charge!" Marth called and saw as swords we're drawn, lances prepped, and axes raised.

The sound of the loud charge was heard by the three in the forest, who were briskly walking through the trees. "Uhh… I think I see them."

"How many?" Merric asked the ex-thief.

"I wanna say about… 6?" The mage nodded in ascension. Navarre on the other hand was as cool as ever, drawing one of his swords. "I think I see one of them binded though. I think they have a prisoner.

"Then we kill the rest." The red swordsman spoke up.

"Yeah." All three hid behind the trees, ready to pounce…

"Ah! Hey, stop it." It was the voice of an old man.

"Then move it. If you refuse to use your magic for us, you're gonna be sold a slave." The old man they had in tow had an odd hat on his head and looked rather important with his garbs. He was undeniably old, though.

"Teacher?!" Merric whispered aloud.

"Huh?! Who's there?" Not quiet enough, though. The mage received a slightly annoyed look from the swordsman before he came out from his hiding place and rushed forward. Before the bandits could react, blood followed the path of Navarre's sword as he cleaved one of them in two. One swung his sword at him, but the scarlet sword simply deflected it and shoved his blade right through his neck. Merric offered support by casting his blizzard tome on them: freezing them in place and having the jagged shards of ice puncture their skin. In the after math, a sea of blood was left among several dismembered corpses.

"Teacher! Are you okay?!" Merric quickly untied the rather shocked bishop.

"Ugh… I detest violence, but it's necessary in these times I suppose…" he looked to the youth with a smile, "Well, hello Merric. You seem to be doing alright."

"Indeed! I found prince Marth. We're actually kind of in the middle of a battle… the rest are over that way." He pointed towards the West.

"Mind introducing me to these two?" He asked, and recoiled slightly at the cold look Navarre gave him.

"Oh, this demon with a sword is named Navarre. He may look intimidating… well, actually, he is… but he's on our side. This is Julian."

"Hey there. You alright old-timer?"

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you. As you heard, they were planning to sell me, so I guess they couldn't rough up their merchandise too much."

"We ought to get moving. Prince Marth might need our help soon." Navarre was the one to voice his concerns.

"Yes. You can walk, Teacher?" A nod, "right, we need to visit that village and tell them to lock up due to the fighting first though."

WHACK! Barst, with hammer in hand, hit a heavily armored knight. "Come on tin can, you gotta fall!" The two charged at eachother again. The rest of the army was doing similar. Marth's rapier was being put to good use with all of the more clumsy knight running about, the armor on them though had him face a couple close calls. Ogma was locked in a duel with a soldier. Norne, Gordin, and Castor were back away doing what archers do best. Bord, Cord, and Darros were equally locked with a foe. The cavaliers rode around the bridge to flank their enemies, and on their way, met up with Navarre, Merric, and Julian, ferrying them along with them.

"Huh? Who's that?" Julian spotted in the distance a couple mounted soldiers fighting their enemies.

"I wonder…" Abel mused ahead of him, "is that the reason they fortified?"

"Well, you know what the say about the enemy of my enemy!" The thief received a nod in reply.

"Master, are you able to defend yourself?" Merric called from behind Matthis.

"Of course! I can't let my pupil surpass me just yet."

"Heh!"

"Are you ready?" Cain called behind to the myrmidon hitching a ride.

"Yeah. Roll around around there." He pointed to an area with high enemy density.

"Are you sure?" A simple nod. Cain shrugged slightly and did as asked.

"H-huh?" The soldiers looked behind to see him drawing his sword. Merric and Wendell joined him as well. Within minutes, the grass was stained with blood all around, with the two mages picked off the stragglers. The five soldiers of the unnamed party did an able job, as well. Arrows downing many, and the three cavaliers, mainly the one in front garbed in white, did their fair share of combat before the enemy made a tactical retreat back to the castle.

"Hold!" Marth walked up to the five, "who do I have the honor of addressing?"

The white garbed man saddled down, followed by the other four. "I am Hardin. Prince of Aurelis. Some know me as the coyote." Marth looked at his bloodied lance. Many soldiers fell to him – he was indeed a skilled fighter.

Marth looked at him with a slight look of hope, "I'm Marth of Altea." He offered his hand, "it's a pleasure to meet you, Prince Hardin.

"And I You," he took his hand, "I look forward to working under you. Behind me here is Roshea, Vyland, Wolf, and Sedgar. All skilled, I promise." Marth made a slight bow to address them.

"It's a pleasure. However, wouldn't you rather take command? I feel you are much more qualified –"

"Make no mistake, young prince, I consider myself a very good judge of character. I trust you will be a great leader. Princess Nyna also wouldn't be happy with us arguing about who is to be listed in the history books."

"Princess Nyna is indeed alive!?" The coyote nodded. "Oh, but that's a relief… I promise to lead to the best of my ability then." The two exchanged a smile.

"I have every belief you will."

"Heh… I feel I've just made a very good friend."

"Let's temper this friendship more through battle."

* * *

"They don't have many soldiers left thanks to the swordsman in red," Wolf reported, "but there's a new problem."

"And what would that be?" Marth asked, getting to business immediately upon approaching the castle.

"They have king Aurelis in custody at Blade point."

"Curse them!" Hardin said aside Marth.

"Are they asking for a bribe of somekind?"

"Yes." Wolf looked to both of them, "and I think you can guess who that is."

"Princess Nyna…" The two royals said.

"Milord Marth. What's our next move?"

"The general, Merach, is willing to parley. He screamed as much across the clearing."

"Hmm… Wolf, how good of a shot are you?"

The purple haired man gave a stern look, "I'd argue I'm just as skilled as any of yours. Maybe more. Same with Sedgar."

"Well, I think I may have you join Gordin, Norne, and Castor. Malledus, I have a plan."

* * *

"Now what's this?" The general said as an unarmed Marth and Hardin approached. "You know what I want, not some –" he stopped as he caught a glimpse of the Altean prince. "Prince Marth of Altea."

"Yes, that's me. I've come here to parley along with Prince Hardin for the release of king Aurelis."

"Princess Minerva bade me defend this castle. Even if you offer yourselves up, I still will be searching for Princess Nyna. Why not just give me her and run free? It's not as if I'm not anticipating an archer to try and kill me right now." The two looked as stonefaced as possible to not give away that he was dead on.

"It doesn't matter if I die, but if Princess Nyna dies… there won't be any hope left to defeat Dohlr… tell me, General Merach. Why did Macedon join Dohlr?"

"I'm a simple soldier, I don't question my prince or princess. I believe that they will lead us on the right path through this war."

"By joining a side that's obviously evil?"

"Even still."

Marth looked down in disappointment. "I can't believe this…"

"Agh!" The general cried as an arrow lodged into his arm. He had been taken off guard by the talking, and the two royals capitalized on the arrow from Wolf.

"Brother, this way!" The king, quickly made his way over quickly as the cavaliers made an effort to defend the others.

"Take this Milord!" Abel tossed Marth his sword. Hardin received his sword from Roshea. It was a swift victory, and Merach fell just as quickly.

"Alright… the battle is over…" Hardin said as the army all went at ease. "Father… are you well?"

"Y-yes… he only had me by grip. He didn't harm me…"

"Dastard…" he looked down at the corpse of the fallen general with lifeless eyes.

"King Aurelis! I'm glad to see you unharmed!" Marth walked over to the two.

"Ah. Prince Marth, I presume?"

"Indeed. Hardin helped us quite a bit in this battle, I must say."

"I don't doubt it. He's always had martial talent."

"I feel we should convene at a later time, I'm afraid." Hardin butted in, "our enemies are currently regrouping inside the castle. We should make haste and not give them much breathing room."

"I second that, milord." Jagen came up beside him.

"Of course, we need to go immediately."

* * *

A tall figure dressed in red walked through the castle corridors till approaching a wing of the complex. "Whitewings. Are you ready?" The three Pegasus riders looked up to see their commander.

"Yes, of course lady Minerva." The eldest of the three, Palla, came forth. "We are heading for Lefcandith, yes?"

"Indeed." She looked relatively downcast, and all three knew why.

"I'm prepared whenever." Catria, the middle sister called over her shoulder.

"Me too!" The youngest, Est, butted in as well.

"However…" Palla spoke again, "are you prepared? We've all heard about Lady Maria…"

"That's precisely why we must do this. Enough chit-chat. To the sky!"

* * *

 **Yes... after 4 months, I finally release the next chapter... I'm so terribly sorry to all of you who have been waiting and waiting. I personally hate it, so it makes me feel miserable if other people have been.**

 **In more positive news, (and at least half of why it's taken so long to get this out) I've joined the Fire Emblem Amino! I'm doing a lot more oneshots and other things there, so I've been a little unfocused with my writing (as you can tell), but atleast I'm getting good practice? Again, I'm sorry. If you're on the Amino, my name is still SigmaXVII, so feel free to find me if you so wish. I'm uploading all of the chapters of the novelization on there currently, too!**


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